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West Point Accused of Censoring Professors in Class

The military academy’s longest-serving law professor claims the school is violating the First Amendment.

Civilian professors at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point are no longer allowed to express opinions in the classroom and must seek prior approval for their writing and publishing, according to a new lawsuit filed against the school. Tim Bakken, who has taught in the academy’s Department of Law and Philosophy for 25 years, brought the suit accusing the academy of violating the First Amendment after its leadership began scrutinizing faculty speech in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump. In February, West Point issued a policy prohibiting faculty from using the school’s “affiliation or branding” in connection with any public comments or writings without the academy’s approval. In the months that followed, academy leadership withdrew books from the library, removed words and phrases from syllabi, eliminated courses and majors, threatened or punished faculty members who didn’t receive prior speaking approval from the school, and instructed professors not to express their opinions in the classroom, the suit says. According to Bakken, who has a contract with a publisher for a book that is critical of some aspects of West Point, the policy was intended “to control, chill and suppress faculty speech.” The military academy did not immediately return a request for comment.