The University of Florida faces a possible court confrontation with white supremacist Richard Spencer the man who led the violent Charlottesville, Virginia, rally on Saturday after denying a permit Wednesday for him to speak on campus next month.
As First Amendment lawyer David Bodney sees it, the university's decision raises three legal problems: "The first risk is a lawsuit filed on behalf of Spencer or his group that alleges a violation of his First Amendment rights. The second risk is losing the lawsuit. And the third risk could be winning the lawsuit."
In other words, it's a no-win situation for the public university in Gainesville, which is in the position of either suppressing free speech rights or allowing a white supremacy speech that could incite violence on campus.
"It's a very difficult situation for the university," noted Bodney, who heads Ballard Spahr's media and entertainment law group in Phoenix. "And it's a tricky legal issue in many ways."
A Spencer supporter told the Associated Press that he intends to sue the university, just as he sued Auburn University after the Alabama school refused to allow Spencer to speak on campus. He won, and Spencer was allowed to speak, with little violence.
UF President Kent Fuchs has gone both ways on the question. At first he announced in a memo Aug. 12 that a request was pending "for the potential event," saying, "While this speaker's views do not align with our values as an institution, we must follow the law, upholding the First Amendment not to discriminate based on content and provide access to a public space."
But Thursday he issued a memo posted on Facebook, decrying Spencer's "racist rhetoric" and citing law enforcement officials' "serious concerns for safety." He referred to "continued calls online and in social media for similar [to Charlottesville] violence in Gainesville such as those decreeing: 'The Next Battlefield is in Florida.' "
Spencer and his group, the National Policy Institute, could not be reached for comment by deadline. But Cameron Padgett, a Georgia man affiliated with Spencer's group and the coordinator of the planned UF event Sept. 12, told the Associated Press he would be filing a legal challenge.
"I signed an agreement and sent it in to the event coordinator," Padgett said. "I don't know who's advising them on why they think they can do this."
Auburn Lawsuit
The university referred questions to Janine Sikes, vice president for public affairs. She said the university's general counsel's office is advising Fuchs on his decisions.