ACLU Warns UT Disciplinary Action Against Pro-Palestine Protesters Could Violate First Amendment

The ACLU of Texas sent a letter to University of Texas President Jay Hartzell, cautioning that the university's investigation into student protesters arrested during pro-Palestine demonstrations on April 24 and 29 may infringe on their First Amendment rights.

When participating in protest is placed under such scrutiny and when students are put through these investigations, it suffocates the breathing room for our constitutional rights... That's why we were concerned about what we're seeing. - Savannah Kumar, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Texas

The university initiated disciplinary proceedings against alleged student rule-breakers on June 7, providing arrest affidavits, protest images, and Instagram posts as evidence. Students were asked to respond in writing to 12 questions about their conduct, an approach the ACLU claims "presupposes guilt and ignores First Amendment protections for peaceful protest."

The UT spokesperson, Mike Rosen, refuted the claim, stating that students are "not being disciplined for protesting but for violating university rules," and that UT supports the rights of its community to "express their views as long as they comply with our Institutional Rules."

In response to the disciplinary notices, UT students collectively denied rule violation accusations, expressing concern about bias and requesting a no-findings letter instead of an administrative disposition. They cited previous university statements supporting free speech and asserted that their protest activities directly contributed to the university's function.

We object to the accusation that our engagement in protected free speech activity is 'disruptive' to the university’s function... by exercising our basic rights to speech and peaceable assembly, we were, in fact, directly carrying out a daily function of the University. - UT Students' Response Letter

Savannah Kumar of the ACLU emphasized that university rules must still respect constitutional rights, arguing that students don't "leave their First Amendment rights at the door when they enroll."

The UT protests mirrored national calls for universities to divest from weapons manufacturers contributing to Israel's conflict with Hamas, with protesters highlighting the reported 34,000 deaths in Gaza.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.