Florida governor bans pro-Palestine student group

Florida’s university system chancellor, working with Governor Ron DeSantis, ordered universities in the state to shut down chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a student group that has chapters in colleges across the country.

The State University System of Florida said SJP had to be dismantled as part of a "crackdown" on campus demonstrations that the chancellor claims provide "harmful support for terrorist groups."

"Based on the National SJP’s support of terrorism, in consultation with Governor DeSantis, the student chapters must be deactivated," the system's Chancellor Ray Rodrigues wrote in a memo to university leaders.

The move makes Florida the first US state to outlaw the student group and is part of a larger crackdown on students and academics who have shown criticism of Israel amid the ongoing war.