Court Supports Suspension of LSU Professor Over Vulgarly Criticizing Trump and Louisiana Governor
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A Louisiana appeals court on Tuesday affirmed the suspension of an LSU law professor who made vulgar remarks about Gov. Jeff Landry and President Donald Trump.
During a constitutional law class last month, tenured Professor Ken Levy used an expletive, saying “f(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) the Governor,” and applied similar language to describe Trump and his student supporters.
Shortly after, LSU informed Levy that he was suspended from his teaching duties “pending an investigation into student complaints of inappropriate statements made in your class,” according to a lawsuit Levy filed last week.
The three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeal reversed the ruling of East Baton Rouge district judge Donald Johnson, who had ordered LSU to immediately reinstate Levy. The appeals court ruled that a “full evidentiary hearing” would be necessary.
Both parties’ attorneys confirmed a hearing is set for Monday.
The court’s decision maintained the district judge’s temporary restraining order, which prohibits LSU from retaliating against Levy for his protected academic freedom and free speech.
FILE – Former President Donald Trump, left, and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry visit Café du Monde in New Orleans,
Levy’s attorney, Jill Craft, expressed satisfaction with the appeals court’s ruling, which upheld “the bulk” of the restraining order for her client.
“This means his rights are protected, and LSU cannot take any action against him, which is a positive outcome,” Craft told The Associated Press.
LSU’s attorney, Jimmy Faircloth, Jr., criticized the restraining order upheld by the appeals court, calling it “superfluous” and suggesting it merely reminded LSU “not to break the law,” which he claimed the university had not done.
Todd Woodward, LSU’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, stated via email that Levy’s suspension was “not a matter of academic freedom” but “inappropriate conduct in the classroom.”
“Our investigation found that Professor Levy created a classroom environment that was demeaning to students with differing political views, threatening in terms of grades, and profane,” Woodward added.
In a sworn affidavit, Levy explained his comments were meant to be “joking” and intended to express support for the First Amendment and emphasize the no-recording policy in his class.
Levy’s lawsuit said the no-recording rule was implemented to avoid being “Governor Landry’s next target,” although this ironically happened.
In November, Gov. Landry had publicly called for LSU to discipline another law professor, Nicholas Bryner, who criticized Trump and his supporters during a lecture. Bryner remains employed at LSU.
In a post on X Tuesday, Landry declared that Levy’s actions “should not be tolerated at our taxpayer-funded universities.”
Levy’s lawsuit claims LSU’s actions violated his due process and “chilled and restricted…free speech rights.”
