ADF calls out Pitt for 1A violations, says school 'incited' disruptive protests of Knowles event

On June 5, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative advocacy group, informed the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) that it violated students’ First Amendment rights when it deliberately charged over $18,000 in security fees in order to discriminate against hosting a conservative speaker on campus. 

ADF also notified the school that it would be defending the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) and Pitt’s College Republicans chapter after university “officials incited hundreds of protestors to disrupt an event that the conservative student groups sponsored.”

“In light of these constitutional violations, we ask that the University immediately rescind its assessment of the security fee, revise its policies governing security fees, and reimburse ISI and College Republicans for the costs of the event,” ADF wrote to the school.

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On April 18, the groups co-sponsored an on-campus debate, “Should Transgenderism Be Regulated by Law?,” which featured conservative commentator Michael Knowles answering in the affirmative.

ADF’s letter asserts that the university’s communications team “incited many in the Pitt Community to violence and substantially contributed to the disruption that caused the event to be prematurely terminated.” Despite the school telling the sponsors that they would only be responsible for “a couple thousand dollars,” the conservative groups were later charged $18,734 in fees and damages due to the violent protests that the university allegedly incited before and during the debate. 

In March, Pitt’s Office of Communication and Marketing issued a statement referring to the presence of Knowles on campus as “toxic” and “hurtful.” Numerous university officials also criticized the debate, including outspoken feminist and Pitt Provost Ann Cudd, who called a recent speech by Knowles “hate-filled” and “repugnant”. 

ADF senior counsel official Phil Sechler told Campus Reform that, “The university’s attempt to charge College Republicans and Intercollegiate Studies Institute over $18,000 for security that they are obligated to provide is entirely unconstitutional.”

“That’s not free speech – that’s incredibly expensive speech, and we hope the university recognizes that. Universities are increasingly finding new ways to stifle or shut down the free exchange of ideas on campus,” he added. 

“And this is entirely antithetical to the university’s mission, which should be encouraging critical thinking and genuine debate about important ideas,” he concluded.

Amid intense opposition, the transgender debate continued as nearly 200 left-wing protesters flooded the streets and lit fires resulting in destruction. Demonstrators also cheered during the burning of a replica of Knowles’ body with an Adolf Hitler mustache. 

[RELATED: ‘Get out now’: Violence erupts at the University of Pittsburgh over Michael Knowles event]

Pitt charged the College Republicans and ISI for the overtime staffing of 39 security personnel to maintain control over the riots. ADF reported that Pitt’s administration has “unbridled discretion” in regard to determining costs for event security and thus imposed a financial burden to hinder free speech.

ADF notified the school that if it did not receive a reply in a timely manner, then “we will have no option but to advise our clients to pursue other avenues of relief.”

Campus Reform contacted all relevant parties for comment and will update this article accordingly.