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Senator accuses school of ‘viewpoint discrimination,’ demands answers
U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt is probing the UCLA School of Law after an assistant dean told conservative students that they could be punished for publicly identifying hecklers who interrupted their event last month.
Schmitt, who is the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, sent a letter on Friday to UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk and Law Dean Michael Waterstone “regarding serious First Amendment and civil rights violations” at the school.
The letter refers to an April 21 Federalist Society event that left-wing student activists repeatedly disrupted by shouting, heckling, making loud noises, and walking out, as previously reported by The College Fix.
Instead of disciplining the disruptors, Assistant Dean Bayrex Martí sent an email threatening the Federalist Society students with disciplinary action if they publicly released the names of the protesters who disrupted the event.
Martí later walked back the comments in an email to the students, obtained by The Fix. However, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression described the response as “unacceptable” because it did not offer “unequivocal assurance” that the students would not be disciplined.
In his letter, Sen. Schmitt demanded answers from UCLA by May 22 and referenced The Fix‘s reporting on the event.
He requested a full review of the university’s free speech policies and the specific corrective actions UCLA plans to take to prevent future disruptions and protect viewpoint diversity.
He also asked the university to clarify whether it still intends to punish students for publicly identifying individuals who disrupt campus events.
Finally, he called for an investigation into Assistant Dean Bayrex Martí and any other administrators involved in what he described as “viewpoint discrimination” against conservative students.
“The First Amendment prohibits governmental actors from punishing someone for publishing truthful information related to an event of public importance. Releasing the names of the students who disrupted this public event would undoubtedly qualify as protected speech under that standard,” the senator wrote.
He added that the school further violated the Constitution by attempting “to impose a prior restraint” on the conservative students’ speech.
The senator noted this incident fits a troubling pattern at UCLA Law, which is currently facing multiple lawsuits over event cancellations due to left-wing threats and alleged conspiracies to deprive conservative students of their civil rights.
“Each time, a politically disfavored group of students attempts to engage in regular behavior, such as walking on campus or hosting a guest speaker. Each time, a mob of leftist UCLA student-activists violates UCLA’s student-conduct rules—and federal civil rights statutes—by preventing those other students from engaging in that protected activity,” Schmitt wrote.
“And each time, UCLA tries to disclaim responsibility by shifting blame to the leftist student-activist mob,” he wrote.
Last month, a UCLA Law spokesperson told The College Fix that the university apologized to the Federalist Society students.
“UCLA does not discipline students for speech that is protected under the First Amendment,” a university spokesperson told The Fix via email.
“The initial communication was not intended to suggest otherwise, and we have apologized for any lack of clarity. UCLA School of Law also encourages students to engage one another with respect and care,” the spokesperson said.
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