U of Florida's Republican Club Disbanded

"The Florida Federation of College Republicans has disbanded the University of Florida's local student chapter after finding that some members 'engaged in a pattern of conduct that violated [the organization's] rules and values, including a recent antisemitic gesture,' the University of Florida posted on X. The Gainesville Sun reported that the gesture consisted of two students performing a Nazi salute."

"UF's College Republicans linked the disbandment to an event they hosted featuring long-shot Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, who has criticized America's ties to Israel and won praise from far-right, antisemitic commentator Nick Fuentes. '48 hours after we hosted James Fishback (@j_fishback) at the largest Candidate event at UF in nearly 10 years, @UF terminated our organization,' the group posted on X."

"The post also said the group is affiliated not with FFCR but with the College Republicans of America. 'They cited the FFCR, an organization that we are not a part of that has no authority over our chapter. We are proud members of a different organization, @uscollegegop,' the club wrote on X."

The University of Florida deactivated its College Republicans chapter following violations of organizational rules and values, including an antisemitic gesture where two students performed Nazi salutes. The local chapter disputes the action, claiming the Florida Federation of College Republicans lacks authority over them as they are affiliated with the College Republicans of America instead. The group links the disbandment to hosting gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, who has criticized U.S.-Israel relations. The chapter has hired legal representation and alleges the Florida Federation has previously silenced conservative groups on campus. UF stated it will work with the Florida Federation to reinstate the chapter under new leadership when appropriate.

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