NIGERIANS MAY PUSH FOR TINUBU TO EXCEED TWO-TERM LIMIT OVER REFORMS —OSUN MONARCH . (PHOTO).
Texas State professor sues university, claiming free speech retaliation over pro-Palestinian talk
Idris Robinson, an assistant professor of philosophy at Texas State University, has filed a lawsuit against the school, claiming his free speech rights were violated and that he faced retaliation after giving a talk on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Robinson, whose contract is set to expire in May, is asking a federal court to block the university from terminating his employment.
The lawsuit states that Robinson was placed on administrative leave on June 6, 2025, shortly after online activists called for his firing over a 2024 talk he gave as a private citizen at the Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair in Asheville, North Carolina. The presentation, titled “Strategic Lessons from the Palestinian Resistance,” addressed Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023 and Israel’s military actions in Gaza. During the event, a skirmish occurred involving four audience members and three pro-Israel activists who were livestreaming, resulting in minor injuries to the activists. Three attendees later pleaded guilty to simple assault, and a fourth pleaded guilty to resisting a public officer.
Robinson was not identified as a suspect or witness in the official police report, but he says he was subjected to widespread online harassment, which led to the university placing him on leave despite strong performance reviews. The lawsuit claims the university acted in response to online pressure rather than any direct concern about the talk itself. Robinson’s legal action also highlights an Instagram post accusing him of glorifying terrorism and calling for his termination, which he says fueled the university’s decision not to renew his contract.
He is part of a growing group of professors who have faced scrutiny or disciplinary measures over pro-Palestinian commentary in recent years, with similar disputes prompting legal challenges against federal authorities for actions taken against students and faculty linked to such protests.
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