EXCLUSIVE — The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law faces accusations of discrimination after an administrator allegedly threatened to discipline a conservative campus group for identifying protesters who disrupted a recent event.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) said it sent a letter urging the university to retract what it calls a threat against Federalist Society members’ rights.
The controversy stems from an April 21 event featuring Department of Homeland Security (DHS) general counsel James Percival. More than 150 protesters swarmed the talk, booing, shouting profanities and, according to Percival, making death threats.
In April 22 emails obtained by Fox News Digital, Bayrex Martí, UCLA’s assistant dean for student affairs, warned Federalist Society President Matthew Weinberg against identifying the disruptors.
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“I have also seen requests online to identify students in the audience who are visible in video recordings,” Martí wrote. “I would strongly encourage you and other organizers to not disclose those details.”
Martí warned that if the names were shared and those protesters subsequently faced online criticism or harassment, the Federalist Society itself would be held responsible for “reasonably predictable” consequences.
“If that information is shared despite the tenor of some online commentary, and an implicated student reports behavior from anyone that falls under prohibited behavior per the Student Code of Conduct, the student organization and/or individual students could be connected to it (the allegation being that the outcome was reasonably predictable when the names were disclosed) and subjected to campus processes,” the dean added.
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FIRE’s program counsel, Jessie Appleby, wrote that students attending a public, recorded event have no expectation of privacy.
“As painful as online criticism may be at times, UCLA may not restrict protected speech merely to shield student protesters from the consequences of their actions,” Appleby wrote.
FIRE also claims UCLA is applying a double standard, alleging that while Federalist Society members are being silenced, protesters have been “identifying and mocking” them online.
Last week, the school administration issued a statement to Fox News Digital defending the event, noting it proceeded to its conclusion.
“UCLA Law is committed to free speech and academic freedom, including perspectives that may be controversial or deeply contested,” it wrote.
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“This student-organized event, which proceeded to its conclusion, was one instance of those principles in practice. The law school worked with the Office of Campus and Community Safety in advance to support the event and uphold the university’s commitment to the free exchange of ideas.”
At the event, students booed Percival, called him a “Nazi” and held signs, including one that said “F— you loser.” Speaking with “The Will Cain Show,” Percival said the experience was “not pleasant.”
“I might get death threats when I go on a college campus, but the people I work with at DHS get death threats just for showing up to work every day,” Percival said. “I really felt like I had an obligation to the people I work with not to back down, to show up and take some abuse.”
“We are committed to upholding the First Amendment. We have received the letter and plan to respond,” a spokesperson for UCLA School of Law told Fox News Digital.
