University of Cincinnati sued over security fee imposed on Richard Spencer event

The University of Cincinnati has been sued in federal court over passing along the cost of hosting white nationalist Richard Spencer.

Cameron Padgett sued UC President Neville Pinto on Monday after being told he had to pay the school $10,833 in security costs if he wanted to move ahead with his plans to hold an event on campus this spring featuring Mr. Spencer, the president of the National Policy Institute think-tank and a figurehead of the so-called “alt-right” movement.

Mr. Padgett’s attorney called the proposed security fee “cost-prohibitive” and sued UC for $2 million, alleging “unconstitutional content discrimination” in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

“A price tag cannot be affixed to the fundamental right of free speech,” said Kyle Bristow, Mr. Padgett’s attorney. “A speech tax does not comport with the United States Constitution and will not whatsoever be tolerated by my client.”

Mr. Padgett has approached a handful of public universities in recent months seeking permission to host events featuring Mr. Spencer, 39, but schools have been reluctant given his involvement in the deadly “Unite the Right” demonstration last summer. The University of Cincinnati grudgingly agreed last month to let Mr. Spencer speak on campus during spring break, but Mr. Padgett said he was told it would cost $11,333, including a $500 rental charge plus “security costs and fees.”

“If security costs could be passed on in whole or in part by universities to event organizers who espouse politically right-of-center political ideas, then such would result in de facto censorship insofar as fewer—or no—right-of-center political events could occur on American college campuses due to the massive security costs,” Mr. Padgett wrote.

UC defended the decision Tuesday and said the nearly $11,000 security fee covered only a “fraction” of the likely costs.

“As a state institution, and as a matter of principle, we adhere to the foundational rights embedded in the First Amendment. This includes protecting the right to free speech. We have stood by this principle all along and will continue to do so,” the statement said. “However, Spencer was not invited or sponsored by any member of the university community, and like other non-sponsored speakers, he must pay a fee to rent university space. This includes a security fee.”

“The fee assessed is a mere fraction of the costs we anticipate incurring as a result of this event, but we hold firm in our efforts to respect the principles of free speech while maintaining safety on campus,” the statement said.

Mr. Padgett has requested a jury trial, up to $2 million and an injunction forcing UC to lease campus space to Mr. Spencer “for a reasonable rental fee.”

Mr. Spencer was scheduled to speak at the Aug. 12 “Unite the Right” demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, but the rally was canceled when clashes broke out between counterprotesters and participants, including neo-Nazis and other white nationalists. A motorist later plowed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, injuring 19 and killing one, according to police.

The lawsuit describes Mr. Spencer as “arguably the foremost advocate for alt-right philosophy,” defined by Mr. Padgett as “a Eurocentric political ideology which advocates the preservation of national identity, a return to traditional Western values and advances European racial interests.” His public appearances have routinely attracted protesters, and the University of Florida claimed it spent upwards of $600,000 on security costs when he spoke at the school last year.