Police were forced to escort guest speakers from a free-speech debate at Yale Law School after more than 100 students hinted at a conservative panelist and caused riots in the audience by shouting and blocking the exits from the auditorium.
Chaos erupted last week at the start of a debate involving progressive Monica Miller and conservative Christian Kristen Wagoner, both of whom took the same side in a 2021 First Amendment remedy case that was presented to the Supreme Court.
When law school professor Kate Stith began to represent Wagoner, protesters stood up and put up posters attacking Alliance Defending Freedom, a non-profit organization Wagoner works for.
Video of the incident, which was obtained by The Washington Free Beacon, shows students shouting profanity at Wagoner, including one who threatened that they would “literally fight you bitch.”
Protesters swore at the speaker, chanting “protect trans kids” and “shame, shame” throughout the law school building after police escorted her and Miller out of the building.
More than 100 students hinted at a conservative panelist during a free speech debate at Yale Law School last Thursday.
The panel featured progressive Monica Miller (left) and conservative Christian Kristen Wagoner (right), both of whom took the same side in a 2021 First Amendment remedy case that was presented to the Supreme Court.
Wagoner expressed disgust at the behavior of the students, stating that “the future of the legal profession in America is in dire straits.”
“It was unsettling to watch law students driven to mindless madness. I didn’t feel safe to leave the room without security,” she told the newspaper.
“Yale Law students are our future lawyers, judges, legislators and corporate executives. We must change course and restore a culture of free speech and civic discourse at Yale and other law schools, or the future of the legal profession in America will be in dire straits.”
Miller, who during Thursday’s panel described Wagoner’s nonprofit as a “hate group,” echoed her debate opponent’s remarks, saying the disruption was “an ominous sign” for lawyers.
“As lawyers, we need to put our differences aside and talk to the opposing attorney,” she told Free Beacon. “If you can’t talk to your opponents, you can’t be an effective lawyer.”
Students shouted profanity at Wagoner, including one who threatened that they would “literally fight you bitch”.
Protesters swore at the speaker, chanting “protect trans kids” and “shame, shame” throughout the law school building after police escorted her and Miller out of the building.
The member of the Federalist Society who led the discussion said they chose Wagoner and Miller to demonstrate how a conservative Christian and a liberal atheist can find common ground on free speech issues.
“It was the most innocuous thing you could talk about,” he said.
However, nearly 120 demonstrators still managed to cause chaos during the event by violating the university’s free speech policy, which bans any protest that “prevents speakers from being heard and community members from listening.”
When Stith reminded the protesters about politics, she was greeted with chants and raised middle fingers, to which she replied, “grow up.”
The students hit back, claiming their violation was a violation of “freedom of speech” and continued to yell at the panelists.
“I’ll have to ask you to leave or help you leave,” Stith replied.
Eventually, the police were called into the hall to safely escort the speakers out of the building.
Three members of the Federalist Society allege that Heather Gerken, dean of Yale Law School, asked the authorities for additional protection, but the law school declined to comment on the request.
As the protesters left the event, one of them yelled “F**k you FedSoc” while others started stomping, shouting, clapping, singing and banging on the walls of the hall.
Students and faculty claimed that the protesters were so loud that they interfered with classes, exams, and faculty meetings.
Two days after the panel, 417 students, more than 60 percent of the law school’s student body, reportedly signed an open letter in support of “peaceful student protests.”
The letter also claimed that the protesters were “threatened by the presence of the police”.
“The danger of police violence in this country is increasing against LGBTQ blacks, and especially black transgender people,” the letter, which came into the possession of the newspaper, says.
“Police-related injury includes, but is not limited to, physical injury. Even with all the privileges afforded to us at YLS, the decision to allow cops in response to the protest put the YLS queer student community at risk of harm.”
The letter also criticized Stith for telling demonstrators to “grow up” and criticized the Federalist Society for hosting an event that “deeply undermined the values of fairness and inclusion in our community.”
However, it remains unclear whether most students truly believed the letter reflected their personal ideals, as group chats, Discord messages, and emails reviewed by Free Beacon showed that students who did not sign the petition were outwardly shamed.
“It seems wild to me that we are at this point in history, and some people still don’t immediately sign such a letter,” one student allegedly wrote in a GroupMe class. “I’m sure you understand that refusing to sign a letter is not a neutral position.
Others claimed that the bullying began before the open letter, citing some student activists pelting the law school with leaflets claiming participation in the free speech panel was a bigoted act.
“Providing a veneer of respectability is part of what allows this group to do work that is damaging to the very lives of LGBT people in the US and around the world,” the leaflets say.
“Through your presence, you are personally involved with the Federalist Society in building a platform and legitimizing this hate group.”