Chaos loosed on an April event hosted by conservative groups at the University of Pittsburgh ended in terror as unruly agitators voiced outrage over a debate discussing LGBTQ+ issues.
Daily Wire host Michael Knowles and journalist Brad Polumbo visited UPitt to debate whether transgenderism should be regulated by law, and the event, that had been discouraged by campus faculty and staff before it took place, was eventually rocked by an explosion.
Now, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and College Republicans groups are being asked to foot the whopping $18,734 bill for security and damage fees. But the groups, who argue the university's move violates their First Amendment rights, aren't submitting quietly.
Philip A. Sechler, senior counsel at conservative legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, wrote on behalf of the groups in a letter to the university on Monday.
"Charging students more than $18,000 to host a campus event is prohibitively expensive speech—not free speech," he said, according to a press release published Wednesday.
"It’s bad enough that the University of Pittsburgh charged ISI and College Republicans an outrageous and unconstitutional security fee simply out of fear about how others might react to a particular viewpoint. But it’s worse that the university also encouraged students to disrupt the event and shut it down. This is exactly the type of suppression the First Amendment forbids."
PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRAT CALLS ON UNIVERSITY TO ‘CANCEL’ SPEAKERS WHO QUESTION TRANSGENDER IDEOLOGY
Sechler continued, arguing that implementing the fees allowed the protesters to simply "shut down" the event by protesting it, better known as the "heckler's veto."
"We urge Pitt officials to swiftly rescind this unlawful fee and amend their policies to protect every student’s freedom of speech," he said.
The press release stated that the campus Republicans group followed all necessary procedures to plan the event months in advance but alleged the campus community worked to rile up potential protesters before the event took place, particularly alleging a March 10 press release from the university labeling the event as "toxic and hurtful."
The ADF press release also alleged specific faculty members accused Knowles of "hate-filled rhetoric" and "condemned" the event, adding that one particular professor urged students to attend events scheduled in response to Knowles' presence.
"Given the University’s incitement, it is no wonder an angry mob of hundreds assembled on campus to shut down the April 18 Event with unlawful, violent behavior," ADF's letter argued.
UPitt reportedly told ISI on May 19 that it would be responsible for the over $18,000 in fees and demanded the transfer of the funds "soon."
Fox News Digital reached out to ADF and UPitt for comment.
UPitt responded with the following: "The University of Pittsburgh has received this letter and is carefully reviewing it. Given that this letter was only recently received along with an implicit threat of legal action, the University is not in a position to comment about these specific assertions and allegations."
The school also directed Fox News Digital to a page highlighting free speech in their student code of conduct.
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