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Tenured Law Prof Sues LSU For Removing Him From Teaching After Allegedly Saying ‘F*** Trump’ In Class

Following up on last Wednesday's post, LSU Law Prof Removed From Classes Amid Investigation Into Political Comments:  WAFB, Law Professor Sidelined for Comments in Class, Sues LSU:

LSU LevyLSU Law Professor Ken Levy filed a lawsuit against the university late Tuesday evening, alleging his constitutional right to free speech, occupational right to due process, tenure protection and academic freedom have all been violated.

The lawsuit states on January 17, 2025, LSU dean Alena Allen called Professor Levy and told him LSU Human Resources wanted to meet with him the following day, a Saturday.

That same day Levy was relieved of his teaching responsibilities, effective immediately, pending an investigation into student complaints of inappropriate statements made in class.

Those comments, according to the lawsuit, were said two days earlier on January 15, 2025. An unidentified student reported Levy for reportedly saying,” F*** Landry, and F*** Trump.”

Levy said he made those comments referring to one of his colleagues who received the ire of Governor Jeff Landry last year.

The lawsuit says that Levy received no prior notice or opportunity to respond prior to the discipline being rendered.

WAFB, Transcripts Obtained by WAFB Show What LSU Law Professor Said That Got Him Sidelined

Louisiana Illuminator, LSU Law Students Rally for Professor Removed for Alleged Political Comments:

A group of LSU students held a protest Tuesday outside the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, demanding professor Ken Levy be reinstated following his removal from the classroom pending an investigation into alleged political comments he made.

“Political conformity is being demanded,” law student Kristen Graham-Winkles said at the protest. “Intellectual diversity is being crushed, and dissent is being punished. How valuable is admission and graduation from an institution that is unabashedly taken with these actions?”

New Orleans Times-Picayune, LSU Law Professor Pulled from the Classroom; His Lawyer Says it was for Political Comments:

LSU removed a tenured law professor from the classroom due to comments he made earlier this month during a first-year law school class, according to the professor's lawyer. 

Ken Levy spoke out against an instance in which Gov. Jeff Landry last year publicly criticized LSU law professor Nicholas Bryner, according to Levy's attorney, Jill Craft.

Levy, a criminal law professor who began teaching at LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 2009, also talked to students about major changes to Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment case law that may lie ahead due to changing dynamics at the U.S. Supreme Court, Craft said. In that context, he revealed he was a Democrat and referred to President Donald Trump “in some colorful terms,” she said. …

A group of several LSU law students last Thursday launched an online petition titled “Leave Levy Alone,” asking LSU leadership to immediately allow Levy to return to teaching, publicly apologize and be fully transparent with respect to any disciplinary action the university takes against him.

By [Wednesday morning], it had garnered more [than 850] signatures.

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