Four current and former students of the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) filed a lawsuit on Wednesday (April 30) against the university and Texas Governor Greg Abbott. They were arrested and disciplined by the school for participating in a pro-Palestinian campus demonstration.
A spokesperson for UT Austin, Mike Rosen, responded that the actions taken by the university were to maintain campus safety and protest regulations, and mentioned that the majority of those arrested were non-students. Abbott, during the arrest, posted on social media stating, “Texas will never tolerate anti-Semitism.”
The lawsuit, filed in the San Antonio federal court by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) representing the students, accuses UT Austin President Jay Hartzell, Abbott, and law enforcement officials of suppressing pro-Palestinian speech during the campus protest on April 24, 2024.
According to the lawsuit, Abbott, with Hartzell’s consent, ordered state police in riot gear to conduct mass arrests, violating the protesters’ rights to assembly and free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In April 2024, chaos erupted on 46 college campuses across the U.S., with camping activities and occupying school buildings leading to disruptions in classroom teachings and over 2400 protesters being arrested.
Following his inauguration, President Trump expanded his 2019 executive order on combating anti-Semitism (Executive Order 13899) to target anti-Semitism within the U.S. and globally. This was in response to the “unprecedented anti-Semitic discrimination, vandalism, and violence” on American campuses following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The order directs federal agencies to use “all available tools” to prosecute or expel individuals engaging in “illegal anti-Semitic harassment and violence,” particularly focusing on non-citizen students participating in pro-Palestinian protests.
Secretary of State Rubio previously stated that if students engage in actions like “damaging universities, harassing students, occupying buildings, creating chaos,” Washington would revoke any previously issued visas.
(This article references relevant reports from Reuters)