Judge to rule on white nationalist’s speech

Associated Press

EAST LANSING, Mich.

A federal judge will decide whether to force Michigan State University to allow campus space to be rented for a speech by white nationalist Richard Spencer later this month.

An 11-page lawsuit filed Sunday night in U.S. District Court in western Michigan contends that the East Lansing school’s refusal to rent a conference room or lecture hall to a Spencer supporter on security grounds violates free speech and other constitutional rights.

The legal action against the 50,000-student university was taken on behalf of Georgia State University student Cameron Padgett, the one who tried to rent the space for Spencer. It asks for a preliminary injunction forcing MSU to reverse its decision, as well as $75,000 in damages. Federal courts were closed Monday for Labor Day. A date for an initial hearing could be set soon, and a judge would likely give both sides at least several days to submit arguments for or against a preliminary injunction.