Christensen v. Carter, et al.

Guy Christensen was expelled from The Ohio State University without a hearing following public backlash to online videos he posted in which he engaged in protected speech.

Prior to starting college, Plaintiff Guy Christensen was already a popular social media influencer and political activist for the cause of Palestinian liberation. He is a passionate critic of Zionism and of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, and sometimes levels criticisms at public figures or organizations who stand opposed to his positions on those matters. Across a range of platforms including TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Substack, Mr. Christensen routinely posts videos of himself commenting on Palestinian rights, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and related subjects. He also uses his platforms for charitable work, such as by raising funds for Palestinians in Gaza who have been displaced over the course of the war.

Mr. Christensen enrolled at the Ohio State University in fall of 2024. He maintained good academic standing, including being named to the Dean’s List, and never had any disciplinary issues at the university. He did not share his OSU affiliation on his online platforms, or make his online activism known at school. At the end of the Spring semester in April 2025, he left OSU’s campus and the state of Ohio for the summer.

On May 21, 2025, gunman Elias Rodriguez murdered two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. The victims were killed as they exited an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. Rodriguez reportedly chanted “free, free Palestine” immediately after the shooting. The shooting was investigated and later charged as a hate crime. A manifesto purportedly written by Rodriguez was posted on X on the evening of the shooting.

Mr. Christensen posted an initial reaction to the shooting the following morning. He condemned the shooting, “for some obvious reasons and for some reasons that are not so obvious.” He stated that “I don’t support the slaughter of civilians. That’s not the way to go about it and bring justice.” But, he explained, he believed that the shooting would provide the “Trump regime” with a “pretext to violently crack down on the [Palestinian liberation] movement within this country,” which Mr. Christensen analogized to the Nazi regime’s Kristallnacht attacks after the assassination of a German diplomat by a Jewish activist.

Later that day, Mr. Christensen released a second video, the Rodriguez Video. There he echoed many of the same sentiments but withdrew his condemnation of Rodriguez. He stated that in his opinion, Rodriguez was not motivated by antisemitism. He further stated that in his opinion, Rodriguez was “not a terrorist. He’s a resistance fighter. And the fact is that the fight against Israel’s war machine, against their genocide machine, against their criminality, includes their foreign diplomats in this country and internationally.” He restated his belief that the shooting “is being used to weaponize violence against the [Palestinian rights] movement. But we will meet it with our own greater resistance and escalation.”

The following day, May 23, Mr. Christensen released a short video responding to criticism of the Rodriguez Video and clarifying that he “would never make a threat.”

Also on May 22, Mr. Christensen released a video comprising political criticism of Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY), the Torres Video. Mr. Christensen denounced Rep. Torres’ position that the conflict in Gaza did not constitute “genocide,” as well as Rep. Torres’ affiliations with a prominent pro-Israeli lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), with Israeli public figures, and with the Zionist movement more generally. In this video, he asserted, “Now Ritchie, screenshots are forever and what you’ve said and done will haunt your family for eternity as you will eventually, if you’re still alive, end up in a Nuremburg trial[] for all the elected officials in America who facilitated and protected this genocide.”

At no point in any of his videos did Mr. Christensen threaten or incite violence.

Mr. Christensen’s statements are controversial, and a number of individuals and groups took offense to the Rodriguez and Torres Videos. But criticism and denunciation quickly turned into calls by major political figures for Mr. Christensen to be investigated or punished for his opinions. These included Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell, who leads the Trump administration’s multi-agency Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, declaring “Will review all leads!” and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi replying, “THANKS LEO!” Meanwhile, Mr. Christensen’s identity and affiliation to OSU was discovered and disclosed online by a user on X.

With his enrollment at OSU now widely known, the online backlash escalated into a pressure campaign against OSU for his disenrollment. One account on Instagram under the name “endjewhatred”—which itself has no apparent OSU connection—called on its followers to write letters to OSU President Ted Carter urging him to “act decisively to expel freshman Guy Christensen and refer him to law enforcement for investigation due to his antisemitic hate speech, explicit support for terrorism, and anti-American rhetoric.” Another activist with no apparent OSU affiliation, claimed to have complained to OSU and received a response from President Ted Carter describing the matter as a “serious situation” and assuring the complainant that “the university strongly condemns antisemitism” and “has processes that we follow to address allegations or reports of antisemitism or other violations of university rules.”

Amidst this backlash, OSU did indeed take action against Mr. Christensen. Initially, he was notified that he had been suspended and barred from campus, pending “the conclusion of the student conduct process, including any appeal[.]” He was told “there is reasonable cause to believe your presence … poses a significant risk of substantial harm to the safety or security of yourself, others, or to property.”

Mr. Christensen followed instructions to remain off OSU campus and to schedule a meeting with the Director of Student Conduct.

The pressure campaign continued, and the outrage against Mr. Christensen’s videos escalated. Congressman Torres called him “an unrepentant apologist for the murder of innocent Jews and Israelis” who “appears intent on inciting violence against anyone who dares to be pro-Israel.” The New York Post reported that Rep. Torres had requested that the U.S. Capitol Police investigate Mr. Christensen, on the basis that the words “if you’re still alive” raised “serious concerns about” whether Mr. Christensen “is inciting violence or encouraging others to take action against me.”

Days before his scheduled meeting, having never had an opportunity to defend himself or address the allegations against him, Mr. Christensen was notified by Senior Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers that he had been expelled from OSU.

The expulsion letter made it clear that the escalation from suspension to disenrollment was not a result of anything Mr. Christensen had done. Rather, it was a response to the wave of public criticism. The letter identified three instigating factors: (1) the fact that Rep. Torres had construed the Torres Video as a threat; (2) “myriad” communications, purportedly from OSU community members, expressing their “fear of violence and for their personal safety based on your social media posts,” and (3) the unspecified “engagement” of unspecified “law enforcement jurisdictions” in the matter.

By June 8, news of Mr. Christensen’s disenrollment had reached his critics. Watchdog group StopAntisemitism, among others, posted screenshots of messages that appeared to be from OSU officials, stating that the officials were “follow[ing] up” to share that Mr. Christensen was no longer enrolled at OSU. StopAntisemitism credited Mothers Against College Antisemitism and Ohio State University Hillel for “exposing his presence and leading the charge.”

On June 23, Mr. Christensen submitted a petition for re-enrollment. His petition, among other things, argued that he had never posed a threat to campus safety, and explained that his disenrollment violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Defendant Shivers rejected his petition expressly on the basis that his petition amounted to an attempt to defend himself. Her rejection letter stated that Defendants would not entertain any attempt by Mr. Christensen to “disagree[]” with the University’s finding that his “actions constituted a significant risk of substantial harm to health and safety.” Rather, he was required to provide “evidence of a change in conditions.”

Ohio State University, a state actor, unconstitutionally retaliated against Mr. Christensen’s First Amendment protected speech. The University also violated his Due Process rights by cancelling his disciplinary hearing and refusing him an opportunity to be heard in his own defense prior to his expulsion.

Plaintiff Guy Christensen filed his Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief against OSU President Walter “Ted” Carter, Senior Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers, and Registrar Ryan Hunt in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on September 17, 2025.

On September 19, he filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, requesting that the reason for his expulsion be removed from his transcript, as he anticipates applying to a new school with an application deadline in February 2026. On September 23, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Expedite Discovery to support the request in his preliminary injunction motion.

The parties had their first conference with District Court Judge Edmond Sargus on September 24. The Court set a briefing schedule and the parties agreed to a discovery schedule. A hearing on the preliminary injunction motion will be held on January 12, 2026.