On March 29, Students for Life at VCU, a registered student organization, hosted an event on campus featuring guest speaker Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America. A mob of students, many of whom were adorned with words or signs identifying themselves as “Antifa,” disrupted the event by blocking doors and continually shouting obscenities and slurs. Despite repeated calls to campus police, officers did not show up until nearly 30 minutes later, during which time the mob turned violent, destroying audiovisual equipment and shoving and assaulting numerous pro-life students. EMTs were called to the scene as multiple students sustained physical injuries.

“Most American universities say they value free speech, but actions speak louder than words. Virginia Commonwealth University recently had the opportunity to show it supports every student’s First Amendment right and utterly failed,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom. “Rather than ensure a safe and productive exchange of ideas, university officials allowed a vitriolic mob to take over and detained the pro-life speakers and students, instead of the violent disrupters. Public universities violate students’ constitutionally protected freedoms when they attempt to silence views they don’t want to hear. We urge VCU to swiftly rectify the damage that’s been done and prove they value freedom of speech.”