Student sues UMass Amherst on First Amendment rights, after school suspends him

This story was updated Wednesday night, with additional information from another media outlet.

A University of Massachusetts student involved in “Students for Justice in Palestine” was suspended in December, according to his attorneys.

Now he is suing the school, alleging his first amendment rights were violated.

According to a complaint filed this week in Hampshire Superior Court, in September 2025, about 20 UMass Amherst students including Kivlighan de Montebello showed up at a career fair on campus to protest a recruitment effort by Raytheon.

The suit alleges UMass Amherst violated de Montebello's First Amendment rights when they suspended him for breaking the school’s student code of conduct during the protest.

Attorneys said he was exercising his constitutional right to protest a weapons manufacturer described as quote a "supporter of the ongoing war on Gaza"

The suit also stated a "pre-suspension hearing process denied [de Montebello] fundamental due process protections, including the opportunity to present witness testimony and cross-examine his sole accuser."

It said UMass Amherst sanctioned de Montebello for speech that caused no material disruption, infringed on no one’s rights, and consisted entirely of peaceful protest in a public campus area—"conduct indisputably protected by the United States and Massachusetts constitutions."

UMass Amherst responds

A spokesperson at UMass Amherst said in a statement, the university cannot comment on the ongoing litigation, but that its legal response will address the claims made in de Montebello's complaint.

The university is "firmly committed to protecting the First Amendment rights of its students, faculty, and staff. That commitment is reflected in university policy and long-standing practice," the spokesperson said.

At the same time, "the law is clear that expressive activity may be subject to reasonable restrictions that ensure that speech and protest do not block access to campus spaces, disrupt classes or university operations, or interfere with the ability of others to work, teach, and learn."

The school considers several factors to determine sanctions against a student including prior conduct, though the spokesperson said she could not disclose information related to de Montebello because of federal student privacy laws.

'The specific actions are... quite ludicrous '

In December, the UMass Amherst student paper the Massachusetts Daily Collegian reported the student government association urged the university to drop charges against "student activist" de Montebello.

He was described as a junior social thought and political economy and sustainable community development double major.

The article said he was charged "this October in connection with a pro-Palestinian demonstration," and that de Montebello was the only person charged in with violating student conduct, and that he may face suspension in connection with the charges.

“The specific actions that I am being charged with are, I mean, to put it lightly, quite ludicrous,” Montebello said in a presentation to the student government.

Montebello said he received five charges, including threatening behavior for allegedly writing “Jeff Hescock [ Associate Vice Chancellor, Environmental Health and Safety and Emergency Management at a UMass Amherst ] you cannot hide” on a sticky note, in reference to the member of the UMass Demonstration Response and Safety Team (DRST). "I personally did not write on any sticky notes,” Montebello said.

In addition to four other charges, Montebello said he was charged with violating the UMass Picketing Code.

Appeal to the UMass Amherst hearing board

The Massachusetts chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and the Boston law firm of Zalkind Duncan and Bernstein LLP filed the lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of de Montebello.

The complaint detailed de Montebello's appeal to the university's Hearing Board, that he submitted statements from student witnesses who were prohibited from appearing before the board at an earlier hearing. The complaint said they would have materially impacted the decision in his case.

In early January, the complaint said, Pete Smith, Chair of the University Appeal Board, "summarily denied Plaintiff’s appeal without addressing the merits of his claims, stating only that the appeal did not meet the grounds enumerated in the Code of Student Conduct."

Masslive reports previous arrests

A story published Wednesday night by Masslive says according to court filings, de Montebello, had been arrested on other occasions, twice after protests also related to the war in Gaza. Both charges were dropped.

The media outlet also reports de Montebello was arrested in 2024 for acts of vandalism on campus.

"He was allegedly caught on camera with another UMass Amherst student, using graffiti to display messages related to the war in Gaza, according to the statement of facts associated to this case," Masslive reports.

He pleaded not guilty.

"According to the court docket," Masslive reports, "this past September the charges were continued without a finding. De Montebello faced a probation for four months, which ended earlier this month. The charges have since been dismissed."

Disclosure: The license for NEPM’s main radio signal is held by UMass Amherst. The newsroom operates independently.