The war on free speech in Florida

Christopher Rufo collaborated with Sarasota police to use state coercion to force one of his most prominent critics to leave campus:

Sarasota officials on Thursday dropped all charges against a New College of Florida student accused of spitting on one of the school’s trustees during a protest in May.

Catherine “Libby” Harrity had been charged with battery after allegedly spitting on trustee Christopher Rufo outside Gov. Ron DeSantis’ May 15 bill-signing ceremony at the public university in Sarasota. Rufo tweeted about the charges in July, alleging “a mob of New College students surrounded me and screamed epithets.” Harrity, he wrote, “broke the police line and spat on me.”

Harrity came to an agreement with New College officials and Rufo to withdraw from the school in exchange for having the first-degree misdemeanor charges dropped, according to a court document. Rufo requested that Harrity not return to campus as part of the agreement, Harrity said.

[…]

Harrity, who was president of the New College student senate and a consistent presence at campus events protesting the new leadership, said the charges were “an attempt to punish me and are a scare tactic to silence and harass students.”

Harrity added: “It needs to be clear that I’m not some random kid. I was an important part of the campus community and I’ve been forced out.”

I’m not saying this petty fascism is the kind of threat to free speech and academic freedom that politely telling a student reporter that it’s kind of insulting to call a pulled pork sandwich a “banh mi,” but it’s pretty bad. Time for Bari Weiss to commission another piece by Cornel West pretending to wonder why anyone is criticizing Ron DeSantis when he just wants college students to read Pluto.