Feb 10, 2022
Jack Denton was a college senior and the President of the Student Senate at Florida State University when he sent texts to the Catholic Student Union group chat about their shared beliefs. Images of these texts were taken out of context and maliciously spread around campus. Mobs of students, most of whom did not personally know Jack, rallied against him, demanding his removal from the university-paid student senate presidency. After a 7-hour Zoom call where they mocked and defamed him, the Student Senate fired him from his position because of the religious views he expressed. Then, Florida State University officials enforced the discriminatory termination by removing Jack from the payroll.
With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, Jack sued his university for violating his First Amendment rights.
After a federal court ordered the university to put
Jack back on the payroll and a student court ordered the Senate to
reinstate him as president, the university settled the lawsuit, and
Jack was compensated for his lost salary and the religious
discrimination he endured. The school has also issued a statement
acknowledging that its non-discrimination policies protect all
students from being kicked out of student government positions
because of their faith.
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