He won an award for what people said is hate speech. He said it was free speech.
Preston Damsky, a former UF law student, came under scrutiny earlier this year for social media posts and an award-winning seminar that’s been described as antisemitic with rhetoric that champions white supremacy. Now, he’s caught in a legal battle over his expulsion from the university.
In an ongoing lawsuit, UF argues Damsky’s online comments are hate speech and therefore not protected under his First Amendment rights. Damsky, meanwhile, said his posts didn’t constitute a threat.
Chris Summerlin, UF Dean of Students, told Damsky Aug. 4 he’d be expelled from the university, according to the lawsuit — a decision Damsky appealed one month later. UF responded Oct. 10 by arguing the expulsion did not violate his rights.
Damsky did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication after The Alligator contacted him via his school email and on X.
The controversy began in 2024, when Damsky submitted a seminar paper that argued the phrase “We the People” in the Constitution referred only to white Americans. Despite online pushback from students, Damsky’s professor, Federal Judge John L. Badalamenti, presented him a book award. The book award is given to students with the highest overall grade in a UF law school class.
Earlier this year, Damsky posted dozens of messages on X describing Jewish people as “parasitizing the West” and saying they should be “abolished by any means necessary.” In one of his posts, Damsky referred to himself as an “anti-Semite.”
A UF law professor replied to one of his posts on March 21, in which Damsky called for the elimination of all Jewish individuals, The Alligator reported. The professor asked if Damsky would murder her and her family.
“Surely a genocide of all whites should be an even greater outrage than a genocide of all Jews, given the far greater number of whites,” Damsky wrote in response.
UF issued a trespass warning April 3 banning Damsky from campus for three years. The warning cited the escalating rhetoric and threatening nature of his words. Citing student privacy laws, the university declined to comment on Damsky’s records or disciplinary processes.
By June 2025, Damsky filed a lawsuit, claiming his First Amendment rights had been violated by his expulsion.
Damsky confirmed in an NBC News phone interview he has Jewish ancestry. His great-grandparents were labeled “Hebrew” by border control agents when they immigrated to the U.S., and his grandparents are buried in a Jewish cemetery in Hollywood Hills. However, he said his opinions are not affected by his heritage. He was not raised Jewish and has never visited a synagogue.
Jane Bambauer, a UF professor of law and First Amendment expert, said his speech was allowed, as long as Damsky didn’t incite violence or make threats.
“It’s not good speech, but it is protected,” she said.
If there was any instance of threat, however, his words would no longer be protected by the First Amendment. Many of his online posts quote other individuals, like historians, Bambauer added, creating a potential legal gray area.
For instance, in March, Damsky posted on X saying author Noel Ignatiev believed people should “abandon thinking of themselves as white,” and Jewish people should “stop thinking of themselves as Jews.”
Devin Kinnally, a 21-year-old UF economics senior on the pre-law track, said the speech might not have incited violence, but it could still be considered harassment.
“Openly classifying yourself as a Nazi is not a harmless joke,” Kinnally said.
Students in minority groups would likely feel uncomfortable in a classroom with Damsky, she said. The university did what it needed to do to protect the school’s learning environment, she added.
“It is disappointing to know that students like this walk the halls of a school I am literally applying to,” Kinnally said.
The federal case remains with Damsky alleging his trespass order and expulsion violated his First Amendment rights as of Oct. 26. As a student of a public institution, he’s arguing, his expression was constitutionally protected as he did not inflict true threats.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus curiae brief, also known as a “friends of the court” brief, for the case. This type of brief is written by a person or organization that is not a party to a case to give insight that may help the court make a decision.
UF is maintaining its actions were taken in concern for the safety of the university’s community. The situation is ongoing.
Contact Swasthi Maharaj at smaharaj@thealligator.org. Follow her on X at @s_maharaj1611.
Swasthi is the Fall 2025 university administration reporter. She's previously worked as general assignment reporter with The Alligator, and you can also find her work in Rowdy Magazine or The Florida Finibus. When she's not staring at her laptop screen or a textbook, she's probably taking a long walk or at a yoga class.
