Fox News: University of New Mexico dealt legal blow after charging ‘hefty’ fee against conservative speaker: ‘Major win’

(Oct. 2, 2024): Fox News reports on the successful lawsuit filed by Southeastern Legal Foundation against the University of New Mexico after the university attempted to charge a student organization thousands of dollars in security fees to host speaker Riley Gaines. In the lawsuit, SLF alleges that the university violated the First Amendment by charging the security fees based on what the university anticipated to be a hostile reaction to the content and viewpoint of Ms. Gaines’ speech. SLF filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Turning Point USA chapter at the University of New Mexico and the Leadership Institute, a nonprofit organization that assists students with planning and funding speaking events.

The article notes that SLF Executive Director Kim Hermann explains that UNM’s policy surrounding speakingevents is “so vague that the university can impose whatever fees it wants for any event” and that their
lawsuit seeks to prevent them from doing that.”

Read the full article at FoxNews.com.

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