U of Wyo. Must Let Controversial 1960s Radical Bill Ayers Speak, Federal Judge Rules

A federal judge has countermanded the University of Wyoming's decision not to let 1960s radical Bill Ayers speak on campus today.

The state-funded institution had cited safety concerns, but U.S. District Judge William Downes held yesterday that protesters' threatened violence was too vague to justify excluding Ayers, reports the Associated Press.

A co-founder of the Weather Underground group, which opposed the Vietnam War and claimed responsibility for a number of bombings decades ago, Ayers is now a professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Education.

Other institutions of higher learning have refused to let Ayers speak, but this is the first time he has sued, he testified at a Monday court hearing.

Related earlier coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "Ex-Weatherman Decries ‘Demonization’ in Georgetown Law Talk"

ABAJournal.com: "Ex-Radical Now a Law Prof and a Campaign Issue"