The organizer of white supremacist Richard Spencer’s speaking tour has decided to file a lawsuit against Michigan State University, claiming that the university violated Spencer’s First Amendment rights by refusing to give him a space to spread his hateful garbage speak on campus.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the suit was filed late Sunday night in federal court by attorney Kyle Bristow, who is an MSU alum and was the president of the school’s chapter of the conservative Young Americans for Freedom while there.
Bristow filed the lawsuit on behalf of Georgia State University student Cameron Padgett, who claims that when he tried to rent a conference room at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center on campus for the speech, his request was denied.
Padgett is seeking a jury trial and damages from MSU.
Back in August, MSU had announced that it would deny the merry band of hate-mongers space, citing public-safety concerns, particularly in light of the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., that left one person dead and multiple others injured.
“After consultation with law-enforcement officials, Michigan State University has decided to deny the National Policy Institute’s request to rent space on campus to accommodate a speaker,” the university said in a statement at the time. “This decision was made due to significant concerns about public safety in the wake of the tragic violence in Charlottesville last weekend.”
Read more at the Detroit Free Press.