Photo from FIU, collage by New Times
Audio By Carbonatix
Two Florida International University (FIU) students involved in a now-infamous GOP group chat — which involved heavy use of the N-word, antisemitic slurs, and calls to kill Black people — have received two-year suspensions, according to court documents first reported by The Miami Herald. But their punishment also includes a few unusual demands: one must make a seven- to ten-minute podcast reflecting on his behavior, while the other must make a “Life Goals Action Plan.” Both also have to write reflection papers.
The podcast assignment asks ousted student Dariel Gonzalez to describe the decision-making process leading to the incident, university policies associated with the incident, the impact “if any” on others, to explain the responsibility of an FIU community member, and, finally, to describe some common situations he’ll face in life as a student when he’ll need to consider lessons learned from the incident, according to a letter from FIU included in a court filing made last week. The life goals assignment requires fellow ousted student Abel Carvajal to identify three life goals and list four action steps he will take to achieve each one, and also write a paragraph “that reflects on how your actions leading to this incident may impact your life goals.”
The news comes from a motion last week in the federal lawsuit (attached at the bottom) students filed against FIU president Jeannette Nuñez in which members of FIU College Republicans argue the university violated their First Amendment rights by issuing conduct charges over the group chat. The motion students’ attorneys made last week (attached below) argued their situation had drastically changed because FIU made the decision to suspend Carvajal (creator of the group chat and a third-year law student) and Gonzalez (FIU College Republicans’ recruitment chairman when the chat went viral). It asks a court to prevent FIU from enforcing the disciplinary sanction and allow the students to remain in school.
The new filing revealed that the suspension came just four days before Carvajal was set to graduate from law school. It also accused Gonzalez of admitting to smoking weed on campus and driving while under the influence months sometime in the fall 2025 semester. New Times readers will recognize Gonzalez as the prohibitionist cosplayer seemingly cozy with community leaders in Coral Gables. Gonzalez’s punishment from the school requires him to complete an online THC 101 drug education course by June 15 and a reflection paper answering several questions on alcohol.
FIU officials didn’t respond to New Times‘ questions about the punishments.
Dariel Gonzalez photo, Screenshots via Instagram/@darielfernandez and @votevincelago
Attorneys save what they seem to consider the most devastating part of the fallout for Carvajal and Gonzalez until the end of their introduction, arguing the students “are suffering immediate and irreparable harm. They are currently engaging in self-censorship, refraining from speaking, joking, or communicating freely out of fear that further speech will be mischaracterized and used against them in ongoing disciplinary proceedings.”
New Times readers may also recognize the students’ attorney Anthony Sabatini, the former Florida Representative who made national headlines for wearing blackface in high school.
Chief District Judge Cecilia Altonaga ultimately dismissed their free speech complaint Friday, arguing students didn’t have the ability to sue because punishment was technically still pending with the university’s appeals process is ongoing.
The group chat caused a firestorm on social media when it became public in early March. The Floridian reported on text messages allegedly exchanged in a group chat between Carvajal, Gonzalez, Ian Valdes (president of FIU’s chapter of the conservative group TPUSA), and others. In the messages, participants appear to take turns using racist and antisemitic slurs, including the N-word, more than 200 times.
“Total Negro Death!” Gonzalez allegedly wrote in one message. In a different text, while discussing a Black student who reportedly left FIU’s College Republicans after being subjected to racial slurs, Gonzalez wrote that another member of the group “called her a n*gger so she left.”
According to the Miami Herald, which also obtained and reported on the group chat logs, Gonzalez allegedly discussed “colored professors” in the chat. “I reguse [sic] to be indoctrinated by the coloreds,” he wrote, adding that he used the term “colored” because “I was told we can’t say black anymore.”
In a separate conversation about Jewish people, in which participants used an antisemitic slur, Valdes allegedly wrote, “I would def not marry a Jew lmao.”
The Herald’s reporting also revealed Valdes writing, “We need to have a moratorium on immigration temporarily unless it’s someone from a first world country.” He then clarified, “Yeah I obviously mean whites.”
Carvajal, who served as Miami-Dade County GOP secretary, allegedly created and named the group chat, titled “Uber Retards Yapping Inc.”
According to the Miami Herald, Sabatini plans to re-file their complaint as soon as the campus appeals process is complete.
“I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that we’re going to win when the case is ripe,” he told the publication.
