Indiana University Sued Over Protester Ban

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana filed a lawsuit Friday against Indiana University, alleging that the school violated the First Amendment rights of people who are banned from campus after participating in pro-Palestinian protests.

According to the ACLUThe three arrested individuals have been banned by Indiana University police and are prohibited from setting foot on campus for a year.

“Today’s lawsuit asserts that these bans are an unlawful prior restraint on the free speech rights of the plaintiffs, each of whom wishes to return to the ongoing protests on campus,” the ACLU wrote.

The process is requesting that the one-year bans be thrown out to allow the plaintiffs to return to current and future campus protests.

Those arrested are Bloomington resident Jasper Wirtshafter, Dr. Benjamin Robinson, professor, and Madeleine Meldrum, current graduate student.

There have been more than 50 arrests on the university campus since the pro-Palestine protests began. More than 2,000 protests have taken place across the country since community members began calling on universities to divest from Israeli companies and companies that supply weapons to Israel.

The Indiana University arrests took place in Dunn Meadow, the designated free speech area on campus.

“Since 1969, Dunn Meadow has been a public forum, a place for people to engage in the expression of the First Amendment. Indiana University cannot preemptively prohibit people from engaging in this protected expression by banning them from Dunn Meadow for a year or more,” Ken Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, said in a statement.

In remarks this week, President Biden emphasized that peaceful protests are protected by the First Amendment in the United States, but “violent protests are not protected.”

Protests on college campuses have been largely peaceful, but came to a head this week after police moved to many campuses to disperse protesters. Pro-Palestine protesters were also faced with a growing number of counter-protesters.

The Hill has reached out to Indiana University for comment on the lawsuit.