University of California, Berkeley, has lost a landmark free speech lawsuit against a conservative student group… and now, they owe the group big bucks.
The notoriously liberal public university will pay $70,000 to Young America’s Foundation, and will rescind their unconstitutional “High-Profile Speaker Policy” and “Major Events Policy,” which were found to discriminate against conservative speakers.
Berkeley will also stop charging inflated “security fees” to help police conservative events, where violent protesters are more likely, and will be forced to give conservative speakers the same access to venues that they give liberal speakers.
The lawsuit was imitially filed after the university cancelled an event hosted by Young America’s Foundation, where conservative firebrand Ann Coulter was scheduled to speak. Berkeley cited “safety concerns.”
The lawsuit was later dismissed, but refiled when conservative columnist Ben Shapiro was similarly discriminated against for his viewpoints.
Conservatives were pleased with securing a big win for the First Amendment.
“This settlement is a huge win for the Berkeley College Republicans and really all student groups on campus,” said Matt Ronnau, President of the Berkeley College Republicans, to the Washington Examiner. “This is a huge win for the 1st Amendment, and I am proud of the work that the men and women of the Berkeley College Republicans have put in to achieve this victory.”
