UPDATE: A statement from the Young America's Foundation.
.@yaf just issued the following statement re: @pnjaban lawsuit against @UCBerkeley @UCPD_Cal pic.twitter.com/7RaWNIlAW8
— Melanie Woodrow (@MelanieWoodrow) April 24, 2017
The Young America's Foundation and the Berkeley College Republicans have sued the University of California, Berkeley after the school canceled a speech by conservative commentator Ann Coulter.
The suit claims that the school's so-called "High-Profile Speaker Policy" is not applied fairly and is used to prevent speakers with certain viewpoints. The "High-Profile Speaker Policy" required that events be held during normal class hours, in locations that were not convenient for the majority of Berkeley students. Groups were also subject to exorbitant security fees for certain students. The complaint also alleges that Berkeley offered to have Coulter speak during the "dead week" between the end of classes and examinations where many students would be off campus and unable to attend.
The complaint cites several examples of other speakers, such as the former Mexican president, who are similarly high-profile to Coulter but were not subject to the university's "High-Profile Speaker Policy."
Since the cancellation of the speech, Coulter has seen some rather unexpected allies jump to her defense, including Bill Maher and Bernie Sanders.