A tense Student Government meeting on Friday ended in a heated debate after representatives moved to impeach Alex Mojica, a longtime House member accused of making unauthorized changes to the SG statutes.

According to the impeachment resolution authored by Speaker of the House Jack Nixon, on Oct. 29, Mojica made unauthorized edits to the official 700 Boca Raton Student Government statutes that went beyond his responsibilities as a House member, despite having been repeatedly warned not to do so. 

In a Nov. 4 interview, Mojica said his actions stemmed from frustration with the nine-month backlog in updating statutes. “My perspective was if it’s taking us this long, and the website’s open for editing, why don’t I just do it?” he said, explaining he hoped to help the House catch up on updates.

Michele Tull, a board-certified behavior analyst and Mojica’s advocate, also noted in a Nov. 4 interview that Mojica’s autism influenced his approach and that the situation reflected misjudgment rather than malice. “He thought he was doing something for the good of the group,” Tull said. She added that Mojica was proud of the updates and eager to share them with Nixon, which showed no ill intent.

Rick Mojica, his father, spoke during the Friday House meeting, emphasizing his son fully understood he had overstepped, but that his intentions were genuine. “Alex is autistic, and with autism, there’s sometimes where he sees the world in scenarios differently. I’m not saying worse or anything, or better. It’s just different. His intentions are always pure, even if his approach isn’t perfect.”

Nixon said in a message to the University Press that while members were aware of Mojica’s autism, they also recognized his experience in SG and understanding of procedure. “He did have full knowledge of the rules as he was the Speaker Pro Tempore for the majority of the 19th legislative session,” Nixon explained.

During Friday’s meeting, SG advisor Andrew Moreira encouraged the House to weigh the long-term implications of impeachment. “Student Government is a learning laboratory where mistakes can be made, and defining accountability from within is also at your discretion,” he said. “I ask you all to recognize the weight of impeachment and consider the long-term implications of setting this precedent.”

Fellow representative Isadora Roque spoke during the meeting. She understood Mojica had no intent to harm the house and emphasized the importance of empathy in the situation, as she stated she also has autism, but added that he should still be held accountable. “What this body owes to Alex is a kind and gentle handling of impeachment where justice may be served instead of one that compromises justice for the sake of one individual.”

Nixon clarified in a Nov. 3 interview that Mojica removed all statutes from Owl Central and made major edits to the 700 statutes, with the changes covering roughly 30 pages. There were also minor edits to the SG Constitution, affecting about a page. The edits included both additions and deletions, reflecting new content from some bills and removing sections that other bills had proposed to eliminate. 

While the bills had passed during the 19th legislative session under then-Speaker of the House Elijah Roberson, they were never properly submitted through the required channels, making them invalid. According to a recent University Press article, Roberson also failed to upload electronic copies of approved meeting agendas. 

Nixon elaborated that the House would need to reintroduce and vote on the bills again before they could take effect, meaning Mojica had made changes based on unauthorized legislation. “They can’t go into effect unless they’re reintroduced and passed again the way they were the first time,” Nixon said.

The resolution also defines malfeasance, the wrongdoing of an official, in SG as “intentional conduct that is unlawful and/or wrongful act that a person has no legal authority to do and interferes with the performance of official duties.”

Nixon argued in the interview that Mojica’s actions meet this definition and therefore warrant impeachment. “Even though the bills needed to be re-voted on, what he did was unauthorized and violates the statutes. By definition, this calls for impeachment,” he said. 

Florida’s Sunshine Laws require all public agencies, including student governments at public universities, to maintain transparency and accessibility of public records. Since SG statutes are considered public records, Speaker of the House Jack Nixon said Mojica’s unauthorized edits violated those laws. 

Nixon added that Mojica’s actions also violated the SG Constitution, which assigns the responsibility of updating and publishing the Student Government Constitution and statutes to the Chief Justice.

Mojica, along with other representatives, had editing access on Owl Central, which allowed him to make the changes. Nixon noted that without Mojica’s admission, the edits might never have been discovered, adding that the same access permissions could have allowed anyone to make similar alterations in the past without oversight. 

“I’ve known Alex for a long time,” Nixon said. “He’s a great guy overall, and I don’t think that there was any malicious intent, but it says ‘intentional’, it doesn’t say malicious intent.”

Mojica said he expected his actions to result in a warning rather than formal impeachment, explaining that he believed the issue would serve as a reminder for SG to update the statutes more efficiently. He said he did not anticipate the situation escalating so severely. “I didn’t think it would raise to the level of impeachment, given the circumstances that preceded it,” Mojica said. 

The impeachment process begins at Friday’s House meeting, when representatives will decide whether the motion will reach the floor for consideration. A majority vote is required to strike it from the agenda or reject it entirely. If not, and two-thirds of the quorum vote in favor, the bill will advance to the Nov. 14 meeting, where another two-thirds vote will be needed to officially impeach Mojica. 

If the House votes to impeach, Mojica would have the opportunity to appeal the decision to the Student Court, and if the court rules against him, he could then appeal to the Vice President for Student Affairs.

Jada Strayer is the Political Reporter for the University Press. Email her at jstrayer2023@fau.edu or contact her on Instagram @jadastrayer for information regarding this or other stories.