CAIR sues Gov. Abbott to 'defend free speech' of pro-Hamas Texas campus activists
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott after he signed an executive order requiring schools to take action in response to campus anti-Semitism.
CAIR is representing far-left student group chapters like the Democratic Socialists of America and Students for Justice in Palesinte.
A state governor has recently come under fire for criticizing multiple universities’ responses to pro-Hamas campus protests.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott after he signed an executive order requiring schools to take action in response to anti-Israel protests and campus anti-Semitism. CAIR states that it is doing so to “Defend Free Speech of Anti-Genocide Protesters.”
CAIR is filing the lawsuit on behalf of the University of Houston’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, the University of Texas at Dallas’ Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, as well as the Democratic Socialists of America.
The order, signed in March, requires Texas colleges and universities to “review and update free speech policies to address the sharp rise in antisemitic speech and acts on university campuses and establish appropriate punishments, including expulsion from the institution.”
“Texas supports free speech, especially on university campuses, but that freedom comes with responsibilities for both students and the institutions themselves,” the order reads. “[S]uch speech can never incite violence, encourage people to violate the law, harass other students or other Texans, or disrupt the core educational purpose of a university.”
However, CAIR argues that the order suppresses constitutionally protected speech, thereby violating students’ freedoms.
In a recent statement, the D.C.-based advocacy group alleged that “the executive order purports to combat antisemitism but targets students advocating for Palestinians in Gaza as they face a genocide at the hands of Israel. The executive order directs publicuniversities [sic] to punish students for using the liberation slogan ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free’ and for being critical of the state of Israel.”
The statement also called the governor’s order “another example of Greg Abbott and the state of Texas’ ongoing mission to unconstitutionally silence critics of Israel and supporters of Palestine.”
The order comes amid protests at several of the state’s largest universities. In April, over 500 students at the University of Texas at Austin took part in a walkout that led to dozens of arrests on trespassing charges.
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The lawsuit also names several other defendants, including the University of Houston, the University of Texas, each school’s Board of Regents, and Taylor Eighmy, the President of the University of Texas at San Antonio, “in his individual and official capacity as President.”
Campus Reform has reached out to CAIR and Governor Abbott for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.