Gerwaski v. State of Nevada

  • Filed: March 5, 2025
  • Status: Ongoing
  • Court: Nevada Federal District Court
  • Latest Update: Sep 15, 2025
Blue-tinted graphic with the ACLU of Nevada logo and the text ‘Gervaski v. State of Nevada.’ The background shows a large crowd gathered for a protest or demonstration in a city park.

Summary

We are representing Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (SJP UNLV), a student group that protests Israel’s military actions in Palestine and exercises its First Amendment rights by organizing protests and advocating on social media, and has also urged UNLV administrators to stop supporting Palestinian people by not investing money in groups tied to Israel.

We stepped in after another UNLV student who disagreed with SJP UNLV’s views sued the group, along with several other defendants, under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and for intentional infliction of emotional distress, even though the student did not show how UNLV SJP assisted in terrorism or explain how they were harmed.

We filed a motion to dismiss, asking the court to dismiss the case because SJP UNLV’s advocacy is protected by the First Amendment, and the student failed to provide sufficient facts related to claims of infliction of emotional distress. We also filed a second motion under Nevada’s anti-SLAAP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) laws, which protects people and groups from lawsuits meant to silence speech on public issues.

Case Number:
2:24-cv-00985
Attorney(s):
Jacob Valentine, Esq., Christopher Peterson, Esq.

Documents

Nevada Federal District Court
Where it started

Learn More About the Issues in This Case

First Amendment Equal Protection View All Issues

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