University of New Mexico dealt legal blow after charging 'hefty' fee against conservative speaker: 'Major win'

A law firm touted victory on Friday when the University of New Mexico (UNM) was issued a preliminary injunction by a federal court judge due to the "hefty" security fee it imposed on an event held by conservative students.

"This is a major win in the battle to protect the First Amendment rights of college students, regardless of the viewpoint they express," Southern Legal Foundation (SLF) Executive Director Kimberly Hermann announced on Friday in a press release.

SLF filed a complaint against UNM officials in February arguing that they "engaged in viewpoint and content discrimination" when they required conservative groups to pay security fees "based on the officials’ subjective assessment of the crowd’s potential reaction" to a speaking event by Riley Gaines.

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UNM attempted to charge students over $5,000 in security fees for hosting women’s sports activist and former NCAA swimmer Gaines. Gaines has been a fierce critic of transgender athletes participating in womens' sports. Her presence on college campuses has previously drawn ire from critics and protesters at her speaking events.

The University of New Mexico (UNM) was issued a preliminary injunction by a federal court judge due to the "hefty" security fee it imposed on an event held by conservative students. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Hermann clarified to Fox News Digital that the case is not over and the preliminary injunction means that the university cannot collect fees from Turning Point USA (TPUSA) until the case is resolved and that the ruling is the first step in making the preliminary injunction permanent.

The university will not be able to penalize TPUSA for inaction in paying the fee while the case is being litigated.

Hermann said that UNM's policy surrounding speaking events is "so vague that the university can impose whatever fees it wants for any event" and that their lawsuit seeks to prevent them from doing that.

The Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) filed a federal lawsuit against the university for attempting to charge the UNM Turning Point USA (TP-UNM) chapter over $5000 in security fees for hosting Riley Gaines as a speaker. (Google Images)

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After SLF won in the legal proceeding, Hermann added that assuming the judge continues to agree with their argument and rules the same way when the case is over, it will have huge effects on the university.

"Now, TPUSA is the only conservative student organization left at UNM. They basically run every other conservative or libertarian student organization out of campus," she said.

Riley Gaines speaks in front of protesters. (Riley Gaines)

"But it will mean that TPUSA can now have Riley come speak, and they can't assess them any higher security fees than they would assess for any other event," she added. 

"Sadly, we see this all the time," said Gaines via a press release. Gaines, the director of the Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute, was a former Division I athlete who rose to fame after competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. 

The activist also hosts an Outkick podcast called "Gaines For Girls."

"Conservative student voices are silenced on campus through excessive fees blamed on security, like in this case, or other red tape that makes it harder for conservative students to use their voice on campus," Gaines added.

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UNM officials told Fox News Digital that they are "committed to the First Amendment and the right of free speech on campus. "

"UNM intends to comply with the court’s order, which was limited to speech events. While UNM is currently prohibited from charging fees for the security it provides for speech events, UNM remains committed to ensuring the safety of our campus and the safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors," UNM said.