Drop The Charges Against the UF 9

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Drop The Charges Against the UF 9

Brian S. Kramer, State Attorney, Eighth Judicial Circuit of Florida; Kent Fuchs, Interim President, University of Florida

Call on the State Attorney's Office and the University of Florida to drop the unjust criminal charges and academic punishment levied against the UF 9. These students and community members were engaged in their First Amendment right to peacefully protest against the US funded genocide in Gaza, when local and state police, at the behest of UF's Administration and Governor Ron DeSantis, arbitrarily arrested 9 individuals based on a new set of unsigned rules designed to suppress the protest. Specifically, this new list of rules, which are broad and inconsistent with UF's official policy, were used to go after protesters for the act of sitting peacefully in folding chairs and playing Uno. This is despite the fact that chairs and hammocks are regularly used in the Plaza of the Americas without incident. As a direct result of this unjust and unconstitutional crackdown, the students and community members now face multiple criminal charges and have been suspended and trespassed from the University of Florida for a minimum of 3 years.

Sign the petition to show support for those arrested and to call on the State of Florida and the University of Florida to drop the charges. The right to freedom of speech and expression must be upheld.

Follow the campaign on Instagram: @UF9ForPalestine

Legal fund: https://opencollective.com/gnv-liberation-collective/events/4-24-protest-4ba750bb

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UF 9 Drop The Charges Campaign

To: Brian S. Kramer, State Attorney, Eighth Judicial Circuit of Florida; Kent Fuchs, Interim President, University of Florida
From: [Your Name]

Greetings,

I am writing you today to call for the criminal charges and academic punishment levied against the 9 individuals arrested on April 29th, 2024 at the Plaza of the Americas on the University of Florida campus to be dropped. It is clear these protesters were engaged in a peaceful protest against the genocide in Gaza, which was unjustly broken up by local and state law enforcement. These arrests were based on an unsigned and, as argued by organizations such as The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, unconstitutional list of restrictions targeted specifically at the anti-genocide protesters. These new rules were also not reflective of official UF policy.

In summary, please uphold the First Amendment and drop the charges against the UF 9. The right to freedom of speech and expression is paramount to a healthy democracy and must be defended.

Thank you.