The Council on American-Islamic Relations announced Wednesday that they have filed a federal lawsuit against Mun Choi, University of Missouri System President and University of Missouri Chancellor.
The lawsuit stems from Choi’s decision to bar Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine from the 2024 Homecoming Parade. CAIR alleges that the decision violated the organization’s First Amendment rights.
On Oct. 16, 2024, three days before the parade, Choi emailed MSJP informing them that they would be denied a spot in the parade.
According to an Instagram post from CAIR on Tuesday, the decision to remove MSJP from the homecoming parade was “anti-Palestinian” and “exclusionary.” In an Instagram post about their removal from the parade, MSJP said they intended to showcase traditional Palestinian clothing and dance during the event.
The lawsuit filed by CAIR lists five demands:
- Declare that MSJP’s exclusion from the 2024 parade was unconstitutional.
- No longer prohibit MSJP from participating in the 2025 Homecoming Parade due to its “intended messages.”
- Award MSJP compensation and damages for the costs spent for the 2024 Homecoming Parade.
- Award MSJP’s cost of suit and reasonable attorneys’ fees under 42 U.S.C § 1988.
- Grant additional relief as the interests of justice might require.
CAIR representatives held a press conference Wednesday at Elm Street and South Ninth Street, publicly announcing the lawsuit had been filed that morning.
Students and press gathered at the corner of campus to hear speeches from Isleen Atallah, previous president of MSJP; Dr. Stephany Rose Spaulding, executive director of the Politivist Action PAC and spokesperson of Movement 4 Freedom; and CAIR national staff attorney Ahmad Kaki and CAIR national senior litigation attorney Gadeir Abbas.

“The Homecoming Parade is supposed to be a celebration of the Mizzou community and our university and what we believe in,” Atallah said. “And as long as Palestinian students are part of that community, then we have every right, just like any other student, to be part of it.”
MSJP reached out to CAIR in 2024 after being barred from the Homecoming Parade asking for legal help to bring a case against Mun Choi.
“Our job at the Council on American-Islamic Relations is to hold these universities and their leaders accountable and to ensure that students can engage in their constitutionally protected right to criticize Israel on college campuses,” Kaki said. “Thats why we’re here, and that’s why we filed this lawsuit.”
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties organization, founded in 1994. According to their mission statement, CAIR’s civil rights department works to defend constitutional rights of American Muslims.
According to CAIR’s website, most of their civil suits are resolved out of court.
A statement from MU Director of Media Relations and Public Affairs Christopher Ave said the university intends to defend its decision in court. Ave said the university made the decision to “ensure the safety of participants and spectators” following disturbances by other Palestinian-aligned groups across the U.S.
“We have also noted concerning actions of some MSJP members at campus events prior to and after Homecoming, which among other things have resulted in a senior leader of the group being trespassed from campus for verbal abuse and stalking,” Ave said in the statement.
MSJP said that no events in the year leading up to 2024 Homecoming caused disturbances. Atallah said she was unaware of the stalking and verbal abuse allegations described in the statement.
The organization also stated during the press conference that it is not affiliated with any national SJP organizations.
Following the lawsuit announcement, MSJP hosted a “No ‘Welcome Week’ in Gaza” protest, announced Aug. 23 on Instagram in collaboration with Mizzou Young Democratic Socialists of America.

MU students and other passersby gathered on the corner of campus as Atallah led chants for the protestors, while members of MSJP and the Mizzou YDSA waved Palestinian flags.
“Israel, USA, how many kids have you killed today?” went one of the chants. Atallah said the university asked the group to refrain from this chant in a 2024 meeting between MSJP and MU staff regarding the organization’s plans for the Homecoming Parade, despite MSJP officials saying this was not in the homecoming plan.
Earlier this month, CAIR settled a lawsuit against the University of Maryland on behalf of University of Maryland Students for Justice in Palestine. That lawsuit stemmed from the University revoking approval for the organization’s interfaith vigil and placing a ban on all student-organized events on campus that day.
The settlement requires the University of Maryland to pay $100,000 to the University of Maryland Students for Justice in Palestine.
MSJP’s current president, sophomore Lily Dunn said that regardless of whether MSJP is allowed access to the Homecoming Parade this year, or if the lawsuit does not settle as planned, MSJP will continue its activism and advocacy for free speech on campus.
“I love our campus, and I want it to be a safe place for all student orgs to have the ability to speak their truth, speak their mind, have this freedom of speech,” Dunn said. “I think this case is one of the many steps that can be taken and must be taken in order to ensure that for our campus.”
Edited by Jae Jepsen | [email protected]
Copy edited by Avery Copeland | [email protected]
Edited by Maya Bensaoud | [email protected]
Edited by Alex Gribb | [email protected]