Federal judge slammed on Twitter for striking down DeSantis' anti-woke legislation: 'Dumber than dirt'

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Teachers’ union trainer says CRT being taught to students as ‘real history’ of America

Author Dr. Carol Swain reacts to National Education Association Social Justice trainer expressing his support for critical race theory teachings.

A federal judge faced blowback on Twitter Thursday after he struck down a Florida law that was aimed to stop wokeness on college campuses. 

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker of the Northern District of Florida blasted the "Individual Freedom Act," originally called the "Stop WOKE" Act, calling it "positively dystopian."

"The law officially bans professors from expressing disfavored viewpoints in university classrooms while permitting unfettered expression of the opposite viewpoints," Walker wrote in a Thursday order. "Defendants argue that, under this Act, professors enjoy "academic freedom" so long as they express only those viewpoints of which the State approves. This is positively dystopian."

In his order, Walker also referred to teachers in classrooms as "priests of democracy" and warned that if they are not allowed to "shed light on challenging ideas, then democracy will die in darkness," appearing to imitate the Washington Post’s tagline popularized during the Trump administration.

The debate over the politicization of judges has become a talking point of many commentators on the political left and right. (iStock)

FLORIDA SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER BOASTS ‘WOKE’ TEACHERS ARE ‘WORKING FROM THE INSIDE'

The law was signed into law in April by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, in which the governor said the purpose of the bill was to stop the far-left woke agenda from taking over schools and places of employment. 

The law aims to prohibit entities from imposing "a condition of employment, membership, certification, licensing, credentialing, or passing an examination" on anything that promotes the idea that members of one race, color, sex, or national origin are morally superior to any other; are inherently racist because of their race, color, sex, or national origin; that one's status as privileged or being an oppressor is dictated by such characteristics.

Twitter blasted the Obama-appointed Florida judge, with many suggesting he had revealed that "woke" ideology is America’s new state religion.

"We need to start getting rid of these repulsive judges—or giving them IQ tests. This clown is dumber than dirt," Claremont Institute fellow David Reaboi tweeted.

Conservative commentator Jarret Stepman suggested the incident was an example of liberal hypocrisy.

"’Priests of democracy.’ The left actually wants to publicly fund religion, as long as it’s their religion," he wrote.

"Whatever happened to separation of church and state.?," senior counsel at the Internet Accountability Project Will Chamberlain sarcastically asked. "If professors are ‘priests of democracy’ then universities are churches, and must do without all government funding," 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives a victory speech after defeating Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Charlie Crist while his wife Casey DeSantis looks on during his election night watch party. (Getty Images)

DESANTIS PROUD FLORIDA IS ‘WHERE WOKE GOES TO DIE’

Harvard Law professor Adrian Vermeule said, "'Priests of democracy' is correct, although not in the sense the judge intended."

Conservative Ian Miles Cheong suggested that the ruling was a warning that woke ideology is a dangerous foe to target. 

"Don't you dare attack the new religion," he tweeted.

Classrooms have become a battleground as parents debate with school boards over how American history and culture will be taught to young generations of Americans. (iStock) (iStock)

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Chris Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute who helped draft the legislation, told Fox News in December that the law "abolishes and bans racialist abuse in the classroom and in the workplace."

"It codifies exactly what that means and then gives parents and employees the actual ability to sue schools and employers that racially stereotype, scapegoat, or demean them on the basis of race," Rufo told "Fox News Primetime."

Ronn Blitzer and Yael Halon contributed to this report.