Federal judge upholds UT Austin suspension over canceled pro-Palestinian protest

September 25, 2026

A federal judge has ruled that the University of Texas at Austin lawfully canceled a pro-Palestinian protest on April 24, 2024 and suspended a student who helped organize it. The decision leaves Ammer Qaddumi’s three-semester suspension on his disciplinary record.

Qaddumi served on the steering committee of the Palestine Solidarity Committee and graduated in May. He told the court the suspension could harm his ability to become a licensed attorney and could complicate future job searches.

Judge Robert Pitman presided over a three-day bench trial in May. Qaddumi argued university officials punished him for protected speech and asked the court to order removal of the suspension from his record.

University lawyers defended the decision, saying officials reasonably expected demonstrators to break campus rules against camping and to substantially disrupt operations. Pitman applied a 1969 U.S. Supreme Court precedent that permits schools to restrict speech when officials reasonably forecast major disruption.

In his ruling, Pitman said the student group’s public statements and references to protests at Columbia University and other campuses gave administrators a reasonable basis to expect rule violations. He therefore concluded UT’s decision to cancel the demonstration and discipline Qaddumi fell within legal bounds.

At the same time, Pitman criticized how the university moved quickly to shut down the event and acknowledged Qaddumi had valid reasons to believe his rights were violated. The judge also evaluated testimony from then-UT president Jay Hartzell, who said his decision was not based on the protest’s political viewpoint or on outside political pressure.

Pitman found Hartzell credible and determined the record did not show that Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order, which directed universities to strengthen policies against antisemitism and discipline groups for violations, drove UT’s action. Law enforcement had expected a peaceful protest, and the Texas Department of Public Safety reported no signs of planned disruptive conduct.

The judge noted university officials did not have to adopt law enforcement’s assessments, because police focus on criminal behavior while administrators can consider violations of campus rules. More than 100 people were arrested in Austin during April demonstrations, and prosecutors later dropped misdemeanor charges against many of those arrested.

UT officials and attorneys for Qaddumi did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.