The University of Minnesota has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that argues they discriminated against conservative commentator Ben Shapiro by relegating his speech to the St. Paul campus.
Shapiro, along with the Young America’s Foundation, which organizes his events, and the U student group Students for a Conservative Voice sued school officials in July in U.S. District Court.
They claimed that the U moved the Feb. 26 speech to a ballroom in the St. Paul student union, rather than a larger Minneapolis venue, for political reasons.
In response, U lawyers this week said they were motivated only by security concerns that the students themselves raised.
In their initial application to reserve the Mayo Auditorium, which seats 455, Students for a Conservative Voice wrote “DO NOT relocate this event” and “The event will likely require security.”
The U told the group that Mayo wouldn’t work because it connects to a hospital and protests were anticipated. When the U ruled out other venues because of security concerns and a scheduling conflict, they said, the student group agreed to hold the event on the St. Paul campus.
“Any restrictions placed on the event were viewpoint-neutral, reasonable and based on security concerns SCV raised,” according to the motion to dismiss.
The motion asserts, in part, that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the plaintiffs suffered no harm.
The U added seats to accommodate an audience of 449 and arranged for livestreaming, and the event took place without incident before a full house while scores of law enforcement personnel kept watch outside.