The University of Maryland’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine will be allowed to hold its previously cancelled vigil on Oct. 7 after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Oct. 1 preventing the university from stopping the event.
The lawsuit, launched by Palestine Legal and the Council on American-Islamic Relations on behalf of UMD-SJP on Sept. 17, argued that the university’s expressive content ban on Oct. 7 violated the student group’s First Amendment rights and that the group should be allowed to hold the event and receive damages.
Given the time sensitive nature of the issue and the recent filing, U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte wrote that the decision would focus solely on the preliminary injunction at UMD, as the group’s lawsuit had also challenged the Oct. 7 expressive content ban across the University System of Maryland and had requested a permanent injunction and damages.
The decision stated that those issues could be revisited as the case proceeds.
“At the end of the day, SJP’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction will be GRANTED. For now, its request to remove the ban outside the College Park campus on this October 7 will be DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE,” Messitte wrote.
The decision comes after a hearing a day prior gave the parties a chance to lay out their arguments before Messitte.
The decision found that UMD-SJP had shown no signs of violating any school policies and had followed the proper procedures in organizing an event on university-sanctioned locations before its permit was revoked.
Additionally, it found that there was no evidence that the UMD-SJP event would bring any threat of harm to Jewish students on campus, citing 70 UMD-SJP events held since Oct. 7, 2023, that have occurred “all without significant disruption or conflict.”
“In all, SJP appears to want to hold another peaceable, if highly controversial, event,” Messitte wrote.
On the question of security, it was found that the university could beef up its security presence on campus and at the event, and any conduct not protected by the First Amendment, including threats of violence, property damage, encampments and blockage of students to classes, would not be allowed.
The decision also addressed complaints by several groups both inside and outside of the university, which was listed as a major factor in the university’s decision to put the expressive content ban in place.
“Numerous university students, parents, alumni, donors, and members of the public have expressed passionate opposition to the event. But like them or not, these very terms appear in the media virtually daily. They are expressive of ideas; however vile they may seem to some. There is no reason why they should not be given protection as speech when they are used in the forum of a public university,” Messitte wrote.
UMD-SJP will have to post a $2,500 bond for potential damages, with Messitte citing destructive events at protests for Gaza in the previous year and the inability to fully rule out a possibility that they might occur here.
The UMD administration issued a statement shortly after the decision was released and said that it will comply with the court order while working to ensure the safety of students on campus.
“In compliance with the court’s decision, we will now move forward with the events, addressing those concerns and challenges with care and caution, including the implementation of a robust safety plan. This includes enhanced staffing and resources with a strong security presence,” the statement said.
CAIR and Palestine Legal celebrated the decision allowing the event to proceed, touting it as a victory for pro-Palestinian students across the country.
“We’re thrilled with the court’s decision. If the First Amendment didn’t protect students who seek to mourn a genocide and educate the public about it, then it’s meaningless,” said Gadeir Abbas, deputy litigation director at CAIR. “Universities that have harassed and punished advocates for Palestine across the country should take note.”
UMD-SJP also celebrated the court decision as a “historic victory” in an Instagram post.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.
