DC Circuit Judge Nails Response to ‘Woke’ Yale Mob That Tried to Shout Down Free Speech Event

There are few institutions in America where one can get such an eye-opening reminder of the absolute intolerance for free speech and diversity of thought on the woke left as one gets on college campuses.

We’ve seen it play out over and over again throughout the last couple of decades. A conservative public figure or someone else who dares to think differently than GroupThink progressives gets invited to speak on campus. Outrage ensues from The Usual Suspects – which has included, sadly, faculty members in many cases. Sometimes their aggressive bullying and protesting tactics are successful in either getting the event canceled in advance or shutting it down as it gets underway.

We saw a very similar scene recently play out at Yale Law School, which purports to be a “diverse, inclusive” space for students. The scene was a gathering featuring two lawyers on the opposite ends of the political spectrum. As The Free Beacon reported, the March 10th event was designed to showcase to students how opposing sides could sometimes come together and find common ground on free speech matters:

The March 10 panel, which was hosted by the Yale Federalist Society, featured Monica Miller of the progressive American Humanist Association and Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative nonprofit that promotes religious liberty. Both groups had taken the same side in a 2021 Supreme Court case involving legal remedies for First Amendment violations. The purpose of the panel, a member of the Federalist Society said, was to illustrate that a liberal atheist and a conservative Christian could find common ground on free speech issues.

It will come as no surprise to anyone reading this that the event was almost immediately interrupted by leftists in the audience who repeatedly shouted down the speakers, in particular, Waggoner, because the ADF has fought on behalf of those who feel their religious rights have been violated, including Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips (language warning):

As they stood up, the protesters began to antagonize members of the Federalist Society, forcing [law professor Kate] Stith to pause her remarks. One protester told a member of the conservative group she would “literally fight you, bitch,” according to audio and video obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

With the fracas intensifying, Stith reminded the students of Yale’s free speech policies, which bar any protest that “interferes with speakers’ ability to be heard and of community members to listen.” When the protesters heckled her in response—several with their middle fingers raised—she told them to “grow up,” according to video of the event obtained by the Free Beacon.

As you see from the video below, things got out of hand quickly with so-called “tolerant” leftists not appearing very tolerant at all:

Things did not get much better after the protesters left the event. According to the FB report (language warning):

The protesters proceeded to exit the event—one of them yelled “Fuck you, FedSoc” on his way out—but congregated in the hall just outside. Then they began to stomp, shout, clap, sing, and pound the walls, making it difficult to hear the panel.

Sadly, the panelists later had to be escorted out of the building by police, as the FB also noted.

While one might look at what went down during the Yale event and despair over what the future may hold for the legal profession, one D.C. Circuit Court judge had an idea in response to it that hopefully more judges will get behind in an effort to put a stop to the anti-free speech madness that has taken over American colleges:

Federal judges are taking note of what’s happening at Yale Law School and similar institutions (and not because many of them are readers of Original Jurisdiction [newsletter]). Here’s what Judge Laurence Silberman (D.C. Cir.) just wrote by email to all of his fellow Article III judges:

“The latest events at Yale Law School, in which students attempted to shout down speakers participating in a panel discussion on free speech, prompt me to suggest that students who are identified as those willing to disrupt any such panel discussion should be noted. All federal judges—and all federal judges are presumably committed to free speech—should carefully consider whether any student so identified should be disqualified from potential clerkships.“

Silberman, a Reagan appointee, has already found agreement among some of his contemporaries on the subject:

Judge John Walker, a Reagan/GHWB nominee on the 2nd Circuit, responded to Silberman: "Thank you for your email. I couldn't agree more."

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) March 17, 2022

Naturally, an Obama-appointed judge couldn’t be bothered:

From Judge Andrew Gordon, an Obama nominee on the district court in Nevada:

“Please do not hit ‘reply all.’ It's very distracting to receive all these comments when I'm trying to get my work done. And it clogs up my email inbox.”

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) March 17, 2022

How dare his email be “clogged up” with opinions from great legal minds on the subject of law students not understanding the concept of free speech?

In any event, hopefully, Silberman’s idea – or something similar – takes root. Because the only way to get woke leftists to understand that what they’re doing is wrong and harmful to society is by impressing upon them that there are academic, professional, and potentially legal consequences for their actions that go beyond the usual slaps on the wrist they normally receive.