UNIVERSITY TRIES TO BLOCK WHITE NATIONALIST

A federal judge will decide whether to force Michigan State University to allow campus space to be rented to white nationalist Richard Spencer so he can deliver a speech. An 11-page lawsuit filed Sunday night in U.S. District Court in Western Michigan contends the East Lansing school’s refusal to rent a room to a Spencer supporter on security grounds violates free speech and other constitutional rights. The legal action was taken on behalf of Georgia State University student Cameron Padgett, the one who tried to rent the space for Spencer. It asks for a preliminary injunction forcing MSU to reverse its decision, as well as $75,000 in damages.

Michigan State said it denied a request for space out of “significant concerns about public safety.”