State University of New York at Albany: Heckler’s Veto of Turning Point USA Event

On April 4, 2023, protestors substantially disrupted the UAlbany Turning Point USA student group’s event featuring political commentator Ian Haworth. As the student organizers introduced Haworth, protestors chanted and yelled to prevent the audience from hearing the group members or Haworth. The disruption continued for more than an hour, after which university police canceled the event. On April 7, FIRE wrote UAlbany explaining that the First Amendment requires the university to address disruptions to expressive events as they occur. UAlbany responded on April 10 asserting that its staff and administrators did all they could to protect students’ expressive rights at the event. FIRE explained that the best way to protect both free speech and student safety is to address severely disruptive protests, rather than cancel expensive events. The university failed to respond to our most recent letter.