YAF to take legal action against UCLA for canceling a pro-Israel event

A conservative organization plans to sue a California university, alleging its First Amendment rights were violated when the school canceled its pro-Israel event at the last minute.

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) canceled a Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) event that planned to feature Robert Spencer, founder of Jihad Watch. The title of the event was “Why Everything You Know About Palestine Is Wrong.”

“Despite previously granting the event approval, UCLA abruptly reversed its decision on the day of the event, blocking YAF staff out of the reserved venue and citing arbitrary security concerns,” said the organization in a statement. 

The YAF chapter at UCLA reportedly followed the university’s protocols and submitted all required documentation before obtaining approval. 

But just before the event, staff discovered the doors to the event venue were locked, and the university had canceled the gathering. 

However, the Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) said that UCLA had “initially refused to approve” the event because it was “allowing an unlawful anti-Israel protest ‘encampment’ on campus,” and it would be a “security” issue to host pro-Israel views.  

On May 20, MSLF announced in a letter that YAF “intends to file a lawsuit” against the university for “viewpoint discrimination” against pro-Israel messages.  

It also said that the university has to preserve documents, such as text messages, emails, audio and video records, social media posts, and other communication materials related to YAF and Robert Spencer from certain UCLA personnel.  

“We tried to warn you UCLA would be held to account if it did not respect the constitutional rights of YAF and its members,” the notice said. 

The Lion reached out to YAF at UCLA, but did not receive a response in time for publication.