Today, Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) presented an amendment to address illegal and violent protests on public state colleges and universities. Click here to read the amendment, here to view the vote on the amendments, and here to view/download the presentation.
“Violence and illegal activity of any kind is NOT protected by the First Amendment,” said Leader Jones. “Taxpayers should not be bankrolling lawlessness on our campuses. Earlier this year, I called to defund ineffective college administrations and revoke taxpayer tuition subsidies for criminal protesters. Our amendment today would have done that. It’s disappointing to see Senate Democrats quickly shoot it down without any consideration for the safety and well-being of our students.”
Specifically, Leader Jones’s amendments would have done two things to ensure accountability for illegal protest activities on public California colleges and universities between April 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025:
1. Require that funds used for law enforcement during illegal protests, as well as any legal damages resulting from such protests, come solely from the administrative budgets of the institutions involved.
2. Revoke Cal Grants from students who are found guilty or are expelled for their involvement in illegal protest activities including incitement to riot, vandalism, and discrimination based on religious beliefs.
In Spring 2024, pro-Hamas protests sprang up across California college campuses with illegal encampments, violence, vandalism, and religious discrimination. Leader Jones published an op-ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune outlining his plan to hold students and administrations accountable for these illegal protests.
In a recent ruling, a judge called UCLA’s handling of the illegal protests “unimaginable” and “abhorrent,” finding that UCLA failed to protect the religious freedom of Jewish students by allowing them to be excluded from certain parts of campus during the protests. Under the amendment Leader Jones presented today, UCLA’s Administration would be required to use its budget to pay any legal damages associated with the lawsuit.
California Senate Democrats’ refusal to even debate Leader Jones’s amendment comes as colleges across the state prepare for another wave of protests this fall. Both the California State University and University of California have issued guidelines, restrictions, and expectations for campus protests this year.
“Despite Senate Democrats blocking our amendment, we will continue to closely monitor campus protests and ensure students can exercise their First Amendment rights to protest in accordance with the law,” continued Leader Jones.