UCLA can't threaten Federalist Society over ID'ing students who disrupted event, free speech group says
After protesters disrupted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security general counsel’s talk to law students at the University of California at Los Angeles on April 21, the law school’s assistant dean emailed the conservative Federalist Society, encouraging the hosting group to not identify the protesters, noting that sharing that information could lead to disciplinary action.
But that’s a violation of First Amendment rights, as well as viewpoint discrimination, according to an April 27 letter from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit organization that defends free speech.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s letter, sent Monday to Michael Waterstone, the dean of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, and obtained by the ABA Journal, demands that the April 22 email signed by assistant dean Bayrex Martí be retracted, stating it that raises “constitutional concerns.”
At the event last week, student protesters inside the room reportedly heckled, booed, played cell phone ringtones and staged a walkout midway through DHS general counsel James Percival’s remarks.
In his email to the Federalist Society chapter president, Martí wrote, “I have also seen requests online to identify students in the audience who are visible in video recordings. Given the context in which some of those requests are being made, and the difficulty in fully anticipating how that information could be used in the future, I would strongly encourage you and other organizers to not disclose those details.”
“Publishing truthful information, including the names of individuals depicted in viral video clips, is protected by the First Amendment,” according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s letter signed by Jessie Appleby, the group’s program counsel for campus rights advocacy. “We urge UCLA to clarify to the Federalist Society and its members that they will not be subject to university investigation or disciplinary proceedings for any protected publication of truthful information.”
The group’s letter claims that the university is applying a double standard, alleging that while Federalist Society members are being silenced, protesters have been “identifying and mocking” them online.
“As painful as online criticism may be at times, UCLA may not restrict protected speech merely to shield student protesters from the consequences of their actions, including criticism by students, faculty or the broader community,” Appleby wrote.
“As a public university, UCLA is committed to upholding the First Amendment rights of all members of our community. UCLA does not discipline students for speech that is protected under the First Amendment. The initial communication was not intended to suggest otherwise, and we have apologized for any lack of clarity,” wrote a UCLA spokesperson to the Journal.
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