The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
The ACLU Of Ohio filed a federal lawsuit against Ohio State University for expelling a student who posted videos on social media about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Ohio State disenrolled Guy Christensen without a hearing and the lawsuit alleges the university violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights for engaging in “protected political speech,” according to the lawsuit.
Christensen is a 19-year-old pro-Palestinian social media influencer with more than 3 million TikTok followers. He finished his freshman year at Ohio State in April and the university disenrolled him in May after Ohio State received “myriad communications” from “members of the university community” expressing their “fear of violence and for their personal safety based on (Christensen’s) social media posts,” according to the lawsuit.
His videos drew attention back in May when, in response to two Israeli embassy staff members being killed in Washington, D.C., Christensen urged his followers to “support” Elias Rodriguez, the accused killer, in a video that has since been taken down. Christensen originally condemned the killings, but took back his condemnation.
Around that same time, Christensen condemned U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres, D-NY, for his “support for Zionism and associations with pro-Israel political entities,” according to the lawsuit. Torres then urged the U.S. Capitol Police to investigate Christensen and the alleged threats he made.
“Though undoubtedly offering passionate political views on contentious and fraught topics, Mr. Christensen’s videos contain no incitement to unlawful violence, nor do they contain any threats,” according to court documents filed by the ACLU of Ohio. “The videos do not mention OSU and in no way target or even mention any member of the OSU community. In short, the videos constitute pure political speech on a matter of public concern, expressed off campus.”
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Southern District.
“We’re not going to comment on pending litigation,” university spokesperson Ben Johnson said in an email. “Ohio State is committed to protecting freedom of speech and expression.”
The ACLU of Ohio is asking the court to say Christensen’s speech was protected by the First Amendment and disenrolling him violated his right to free speech. The lawsuit also wants the court to say Ohio State violated his due process rights by denying him a hearing and order the university to expunge any student records that said Christensen violated the Code of Student Conduct.
“Ohio State University must permit students to think critically, speak boldly, and dissent without fear of expulsion, even if the viewpoints expressed are offensive to the Trump administration, or to the sensibilities of the majority,” ACLU of Ohio Legal Director Freda Levenson said in a statement.
Ohio State does not have to agree with Christensen, but must respect his rights to political expression, ACLU of Ohio Managing Legal Director David Carey added.
“The ACLU cannot allow the decision to summarily expel him for his views to go unchallenged, or the ripple effects will go well beyond this case,” he said.
