A federal judge on Tuesday granted a University of Maryland student group’s request for a preliminary injunction that will allow them to hold a vigil commemorating the lives lost in the war between Israel and Hamas — with a few conditions.

U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte determined the students would likely prevail on their free speech arguments and ruled the event may proceed so long as organizers ask participants to identify themselves, and allow the university to both provide security and oust anyone who fails to comply with reasonable crowd-control measures.

The local chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine organization last month sought an emergency court order after University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines canceled all student-led “expressive events” scheduled for Oct. 7, including the Gaza vigil the group had been planning.

That date marks one year since Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took scores of hostages in a surprise attack. In response, Israel launched an expansive military operation against Hamas, killing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians and leveling large swathes of the Gaza strip.

Messitte acknowledged the student group picked a controversial date to hold a Gaza vigil and that its opponents find its positions and rhetoric offensive and inflammatory.

“But like them or not, these very terms appear in the media virtually daily,” he wrote in his opinion. “They are expressive of ideas, however vile they may seem to some.”

The vigil organizers called the ruling a “HISTORIC VICTORY!” on Instagram.

The University of Maryland released a statement saying it recognizes, and will abide by, the court’s decision. The school also vowed to address any safety concerns with care and caution.

Gov. Wes Moore, in a statement Tuesday night, said Oct. 7 is an “inappropriate date for such an event,” but he “deeply respects” the rule of law and due process. Students at the university have the right to feel safe, Moore said, and state officials will work with the school to make sure their safety.

“I’ve been clear - everyone in Maryland has the right to peacefully protest, to voice their opinions,” Moore said. “But no one has the right to call for violence against each other.”

Pines had sought to replace all student-led events, including the planned vigil at the center of the lawsuit, with university-sponsored activities “dedicated to discourse and reflection” at the University of Maryland. The announcement came months after student protests over the war roiled college campuses across the region.

Students for Justice in Palestine leaders and the attorneys representing them said limiting their planned programming would have violated the students’ right to free speech. The lawsuit accused Pines, the university and the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents of engaging in “unconstitutional content-based discrimination.”

“The First Amendment does not allow campus officials to establish free-expression black-out days, even on occasions that may be emotional or politically polarizing,” attorney Gadeir Abbas told the Capital News Service. Abbas represents the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other free speech advocates filed an amicus brief last week expressing support for the college students. They argued that the University of Maryland’s Oct. 7 restriction is an unconstitutional and unreasonable attempt to “silence speech about Israel and Palestine.”

“Courts don’t take preliminary injunction requests lightly, but it was as clear to the court as it was to our coalition that UMD’s blanket ban would have constituted a serious and irreparable burden on student speech,” said Alex Morey, the vice president of campus advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

Leaders of Students for Justice in Palestine told the Capital News Service they want their Oct. 7 event to include teach-ins, student speakers, interfaith prayers and a vigil. It’s not clear if any Jewish student groups also sought to host Oct. 7 events that also got canceled.

The University of Maryland’s Students for Justice in Palestine requested and received approval July 31 to host an “awareness event” on Oct. 7 on McKeldin Mall, a focal point of the College Park campus. Two days later, after the reservation was publicly listed in the university’s student registration system, the university administration requested to meet with the student group, the lawsuit says.

“You are likely to see and hear expressive activity on campus on issues you may or may not agree with … as a public institution, we cannot discriminate on the basis of content or viewpoint, and must therefore allow such groups to be heard,” Pines said in an Aug. 26 letter to the campus community.

The university continued to receive backlash from some pro-Israel groups in the following days.

A petition started by #EndJewHatred calling on the University of Maryland to rescind its permission garnered nearly 30,000 signatures, according to the lawsuit. On Aug. 28, Student Affairs Vice President Patricia Perillo told the student group that parties outside the university were concerned the event would “glorify violence,” the lawsuit says.

On Sept. 1, university administrators revoked the University of Maryland’s Students for Justice in Palestine’s Oct. 7 reservation, citing student safety concerns.

Correction: A prior version of this story misstated the name of a free speech advocacy group. The organization is called the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.