Jack Denton, a Florida State University student, sued administrators and student leaders on Monday because they removed him from the Student Government Association for texts in which he defended his Catholic faith.
The Alliance Defending Freedom filed the lawsuit on behalf on Denton. The conservative watchdog alleged that the school and the FSU Student Senate president violated Denton’s First Amendment rights, according to a press release.
In a group chat with fellow Catholic FSU students dated June 3, Denton shared clear evidence that Black Lives Matter, Reclaim the Block, and the American Civil Liberties Union support anti-Catholic causes.
Someone in the group chat screenshotted and shared the conversation on social media.
Denton’s remarks came after someone else in the group chat shared the names of numerous organizations that Catholics could support in order “to be active allies and become more educated on the issue.”
The unidentified person in the group chat, who supported BLM and other anti-Christian, anti-American groups, does not seem to have been doxxed and humiliated for his religious and political beliefs.
Another person tried to diffuse the situation, “You guys I love you all but I’d hate to see this group chat turn into a political debate, like it kind of already is. I didn’t join this group chat to be involved in political things, I joined it so we can walk with Christ together.”
Denton told the group that “God wants our whole lives and everything we do to be oriented around him!”
For these comments, the lawsuit said, Denton had his words mischaracterized, was mocked, and was removed from his position.
“Florida State should be fostering real diversity of thought, not punishing individuals based on their religious convictions or political beliefs,” ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer said.
“While FSU students claim they’re creating a ‘safe space,’ they’ve tried to cancel Jack’s freedoms and discriminate against him because they don’t like his beliefs, in direct violation of the school’s SGA Ethics Code, the Student Body Constitution, and—most importantly—the First Amendment,” he said.
