Trump appointed judge hands prestigious prize for an alleged racist essay! A law student who commented on social media that Jews should be “abolished by any means necessary” was suspended by the University of Florida. However, this action was taken only after the student received recognition from his professor for a thesis he prepared arguing that the Constitution should only apply to white people.
The New York Times reports that Preston Damsky enrolled in a course last autumn on “originalism,” the legal doctrine that holds that the Constitution ought to be construed in accordance with its original meaning. John L. Badalamenti, a judge appointed by President Donald Trump, instructed the class.
A law student at the University of Florida — a self-described white nationalist and Nazi — wrote a paper arguing that the Constitution only applies to white people.
The federal judge teaching the class, a Trump appointee, gave him the highest grade and awarded him a prize.
The… pic.twitter.com/CLbR7HfHkf
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 21, 2025
In a paper, Damsky made the case that non-white people shouldn’t be able to vote and that “We the People” should only apply to white people. Damsky received the “book award” from Badalamenti for the paper. The university then suspended Damsky and barred him from school in March after he posted anti-Semitic content on social media.
The Times reported that the social media posts claimed that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were “controlled by Jews,” that Jews should be “abolished by any means necessary,” and that undocumented immigrants from Guatemala should be “done away with by any means necessary.”
So…a white nationalist and antisemite can win an award at University of Florida for a paper arguing the Constitution only applies to white people, but academics must worry about government cracking down for having diversity and equity in their classes? https://t.co/iFbHbB3B6l
— Eric Deggans at NPR (@Deggans) June 21, 2025
A representative for the University of Florida told HuffPost on Sunday that the university “can’t comment” on any disciplinary measures taken against students. A request for comment from Badalamenti was not immediately answered.
After Damsky made his anti-Semitic posts, students expressed fear for their safety, according to emails from university officials. Damsky told the Times that he is not a member of any organization or group, that he poses no physical threat to anyone, and that he intends to challenge the disciplinary action that has been taken against him. “You know, I’m not, like, a psychopathic ax murderer,” he said.
When a paper Damsky authored for a separate class was circulated around students and professors last autumn, he became known for his extremism. The essay was comparable to the one he prepared for Badalamenti’s class, in which he once more made the case that non-white people ought to be denied the right to vote and given ten years to leave the nation.
At a town hall meeting with students and staff in April, Merritt McAlister, the acting dean of the University of Florida’s law school, discussed the controversy surrounding Damsky. According to The Independent Florida Alligator, the student newspaper at the university, she spoke up for the school’s First Amendment rights and institutional neutrality.
