Federal judge issues preliminary injunction in favor of ACLU of Ohio in lawsuit against Ohio State

A federal judge in the Southern District of Ohio issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio in a lawsuit challenging Ohio State University’s decision to expel a student who posted videos on social media about the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Ohio State disenrolled Guy Christensen without a hearing in May and on Wednesday U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus, Jr. of the Southern District of Ohio ordered Ohio State to expunge “any mention of involuntary disenrollment” from Christensen’s academic transcript, according to the lawsuit. ACLU of Ohio filed the lawsuit in September and the case remains open.

“The Court concludes that Mr. Christensen has demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits of his First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment claims,” according to the lawsuit.

Christensen is a pro-Palestinian social media influencer with more than 3 million TikTok followers. He finished his freshman year at Ohio State in April.

His social media videos attracted 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.

In another video around that 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. That video has also since been taken down.

Christensen claimed Ohio State “violated his First Amendment right to free speech by expelling him for engaging in protected political speech and his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process by expelling him summarily, without an opportunity to be heard,” according to the lawsuit.

The court held a hearing on Christensen’s motion for preliminary injunction on Monday and Christensen argued both videos are political speech protected by the First Amendment, according to the lawsuit.

Sargus found the videos “did not explicitly encourage violence or lawlessness and are unlikely to be an implicit endorsement of such action … there is no evidence that violence or lawlessness occurred as a result of Mr. Christensen’s speech,” according to the lawsuit.

The court also found no evidence to suggest Christensen’s video disrupted any classes, according to the lawsuit.

When it comes to due process, the court found Christensen received notice of his disenrollment at the same time the disenrollment took effect on May 30 — meaning he did not have an opportunity to be heard before his dismissal, according to the lawsuit.

“We’re disappointed in the ruling,” Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson said in an email.

ACLU of Ohio Managing Legal Director David Carey said the ruling underscores a foundation concept of the U.S. Constitution.

“Political opinions may not be silenced or punished merely because they may give offense,” Carey said in a statement. “We applaud the court’s ruling not only for its vindication of a student’s right to free expression, but also as a critical reminder to our institutions of higher education.”