Four students at Florida International University are asking a federal judge to temporarily suspend the university’s disciplinary actions against them while they continue a legal challenge involving messages shared in a private WhatsApp group chat.
Abel Carvajal, Dariel Gonzalez, Ethan Ratchkauskas and Dante Mojena filed a renewed request for a preliminary injunction against FIU President Jeanette M. Nuñez. The students are seeking to prevent the university from enforcing their suspensions and other disciplinary measures while their First Amendment lawsuit moves forward.
The case concerns conversations exchanged in a private, off-campus WhatsApp group during the fall 2025 semester. FIU reviewed more than 1,200 pages of messages and accused participants of posting threatening, racist, antisemitic and otherwise offensive content. All four students were subsequently subjected to university disciplinary proceedings.
Carvajal was also accused of creating and administering the group and was disciplined under the university’s student conduct rules for allegedly helping facilitate violations.
The students argue that the university’s actions improperly punished private speech protected by the First Amendment. They have also maintained that some of the messages cited by the university were intended as humor or exaggerated statements rather than literal threats.
The federal court has allowed the students’ First Amendment claims to proceed while dismissing other portions of their lawsuit. Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga’s rulings have kept the constitutional issues at the center of the case as the litigation continues. The federal docket identifies the matter as a civil-rights case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
In their renewed request, the students are asking the court to block enforcement of the sanctions and permit them to return to classes and participate in university programs while the case is being litigated.
The case remains ongoing, and the court has not issued a final ruling resolving the students’ First Amendment claims.
Credit: Heritage Florida Jewish News
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