A California professor is suing district administrators after he was allegedly targeted for voicing his political opinions.
The Institute for Free Speech filed the lawsuit on behalf of Bakersfield College professor Daymon Johnson, Fox News reported Monday.
Johnson is a history professor who is named on the school’s Renegade Institute for Liberty (RIFL) webpage.
“The Renegade Institute for Liberty promotes diversity of thought and intellectual literacy through the free and open discourse of American ideals, including civil, economic, and religious freedom,” the site reads.
According to the lawsuit, an investigation was opened once Johnson replied to an online post from faculty member Andrew Bond.
Bond allegedly wrote, “Maybe Trump’s comment about s—hole countries was a statement of projection because honestly, the US is a f—ing piece of s— nation. Go ahead and quote me, conservatives.”
In response, Johnson reportedly stated, “Do you agree with this radical SJW from BC’s English Department? Thoughts? Maybe [Bond] should move to China, and post this about… the Chinese Communist Party and see how much mileage it gets him.”
Bond later filed an administrative complaint against Johnson who was then investigated. Now, the man is worried he will lose his job.
In a press release June 5, the Institute for Free Speech said the college compelled Johnson and other faculty members to “adhere to a state-mandated ideology.”
The release continued:
The Institute for Free Speech represents Professor Johnson in a federal lawsuit seeking to block enforcement of unconstitutional, repressive rules and practices that prevent Bakersfield College (“BC”) faculty from exercising basic rights to free speech and academic freedom. BC administrators investigate and punish faculty who criticize or question their preferred views, including state-mandated, administration-approved “anti-racism” ideology.
The First Amendment does not permit the government to abridge freedom of speech.
The lawsuit also noted the school recently terminated professor Matthew Garrett. The institutes press release details that occurrence:
The administration terminated Garrett after he spoke out publicly against BC’s preferred views, including by publishing an op-ed in the local newspaper, appearing on a radio show, giving media interviews, and posting online comments. The administration even cited Professor Garrett’s defense of the term “cultural Marxism,” deeming it “hate speech.” Among Garrett’s offenses: his failure to censor RIFL’s Facebook posts — posts made by Professor Johnson.
The suit also mentions Kern Community College District Vice President John S. Corkins, who allegedly spoke out against employees who did not agree with the district’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
He said those people were in a small percentage they must keep culling, adding, “Got them in my livestock operation and that’s why we put a rope on some of them and take them to the slaughterhouse.”
The lawsuit claimed those he spoke of were among Bakersfield College faculty, and the Fox report noted Corkins later issued a public apology for his comments.
Breitbart News reported in March that one in four college faculty members say they are very or extremely likely to self-censor in academic publications, per a survey sponsored by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
The survey also found that more than one in three of them self-censor when giving interviews or lectures.
“This means that self-censorship among college faculty is far more prevalent than it was during the McCarthy era,” the article noted.
The case is Johnson vs. Watkin, No. 1:23-cv-00848-CDB in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
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