The University of New Mexico is facing a federal lawsuit for imposing a hefty security fee on conservative students hosting speaker Riley Gaines.
The Southeastern Legal Foundation filed the lawsuit, arguing that charging high security fees based on assumptions about crowd reactions violates the First Amendment.
“The invoice showed that twenty-seven officers were on-site, with several officers roaming and even an ‘arrest team’ standing by, even though the event was peaceful and only a few protestors showed up holding signs. UNM also admitted that the university consistently applies higher fees to Turning Point USA events,” SLF stated.
Despite warnings from SLF, UNM billed the students for security costs.
Gaines, a former athlete, was set to speak about competing against a transgender athlete.
This incident is part of a larger pattern of controversy surrounding Gaines’ speaking engagements on college campuses.
