University of Arizona will charge 2 students over protest of Border Patrol

The Arizona Republic reports  that the President of the University of Arizona Robert Robbins has announced that two students at the University of Arizona will be charged with misdemeanors after a video showing them protesting a Customs and Border Protection event on campus went viral. The potential charges stem from a Border Patrol presentation to a student club, the Criminal Justice Association, on campus on March 19. Video of the incident showed two Border Patrol agents in a classroom giving a presentation, with people outside the door recording them and calling them “Murder Patrol,” “murderers” and “an extension of the KKK.” After the agents leave the classroom, a group followed them until they left campus, chanting “Murder Patrol,” video footage on social media shows.

Conservative media and commentators shared the video on social media and blogs as an example of free speech issues on college campuses.

Here is President Robbin’s response to the incident.  His letter to the community concludes as follows:

“The University has policies and protocols for behavior and expression, and we are following those. However, I have assigned university staff to examine our processes to ensure we are working effectively to help prevent similar incidents in the future while maintaining the 1st Amendment right to free speech and protest.

At the core of these inquiries is the University of Arizona’s commitment to free speech. The student club and the CBP officers invited by the students should have been able to hold their meeting without disruption. Student protest is protected by our support for free speech, but disruption is not.

As a community of scholars, we need to be more thoughtful and deliberative in how we approach these issues and work together to sustain vigorous conversations to find better solutions.”

KJ