Judge rules UT-Austin didn't violate free speech by canceling a 2024 protest it expected to turn disruptive. A forecast shouldn't be enough.

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the University of Texas at Austin did not violate the First Amendment when it canceled an April 2024 pro-Palestinian protest and later suspended one of its student organizers for three semesters, the Texas Tribune reports. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman found UT reasonably anticipated substantial disruption, citing a 1969 Supreme Court ruling that lets schools restrict speech under those circumstances. He found the group's announcements and references to demonstrations at Columbia University and other schools gave officials a reasonable basis to expect rule violations, including camping. He credited testimony that the decision wasn't based on viewpoint or political pressure, and found Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order on campus discipline did not drive it. But the judge also criticized the university's rushed handling and said the student had valid reasons to believe his rights were violated. UT police had expected a peaceful protest, and the Texas Department of Public Safety found no signs of planned disruption; Pitman said university leaders did not have to adopt law enforcement's assessments. My standard doesn't change with the cause on the sign; I'd say the same about a canceled gun-rights rally. Universities can enforce content-neutral rules on camping and blocked doorways and punish those who break them. My view: canceling a protest in advance, based on events elsewhere and despite police expecting calm, is prior restraint by forecast. Enforce the rules afterward. Don't silence people beforehand.