The University of Washington will pay $122,500 to settle a lawsuit filed after the college billed a Republican club security fees for a rally.
The UW College Republicans sued, saying the bill for $17,000 to cover security costs for the campus event violated free-speech and other constitutional rights.
According to a settlement, UW will pay the club’s $122,500 legal fees, but reserved the right to establish "a constitutionally permissible security fee for future RSO (Registered Student Organization) events.”
The legal battle started in February when the UW College Republicans invited the Patriot Prayer group to speak at a political rally. UW attempted to charge the club a $17,000 security fee, but a federal court blocked it.
The year before, violence broke out in Red Square during a speaking event featuring right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulous. A woman has been charged with first-degree assault for allegedly shooting a protester.
Police ended up arresting five protesters at the Patriot Prayer event.
Calling it "the best class he’s ever taken," the president of the UW College Republicans says he’s relieved the legal fight with the school is over.
“I learned how the First Amendment law works, how it's applied, lot of the specifics about it. A lot of how court works,” said UW senior Chevy Swanson.
“There were five arrests at the event and it was protesters assaulting people,” said Swanson. “I think it proved our point that it wasn't us. It wasn't the College Republicans. It wasn't any of the people coming in support of us that were going to cause problems. It was the protesters.
In April, 23 professors at UW's School of Law wrote an open letter to UW President Anna Marie Cauce arguing, among other things, that imposing such a fee would embolden outside groups to silence speakers they disagree with.
UW spokesperson, Victor Balta, issued this statement in regards to the settlement:
“The University of Washington strongly supports a free and open exchange of opinions and ideas. We have a responsibility to our campus community to ensure that safety and security are maintained during any event held on campus, and we are pleased that the settlement preserves our ability to develop a long-term solution that balances free speech and campus safety without passing the burden of sometimes significant security costs on to all students.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
