Two University of Texas at Dallas professors have filed a federal lawsuit against the university system, alleging their arrests at a 2024 campus demonstration led to unlawful retaliation and severe restrictions on their professional lives.
The legal complaint, filed by history professors Ben Wright and Rosemary Admiral, centers on their detention during a peaceful protest on May 1, 2024. The professors state they were positioned between their students and law enforcement officers when they were taken into custody. While criminal charges against them were ultimately dropped nearly a year later, they contend the university unjustly punished them in the interim.
Following the arrests, the professors allege UTD administrators severely limited their access to campus grounds, effectively barring them except for narrowly defined classroom instruction and specific research duties. Their attorney, Christina Jump, asserts the university incorrectly claimed a court mandated these restrictions. “No court required that,” Jump stated.
The lawsuit names UTD, the broader University of Texas system, former and current university presidents, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and Attorney General Ken Paxton as defendants. It alleges violations of the professors’ First and Fourth Amendment rights, including unlawful arrest and retaliation for engaging in protected speech.
The case unfolds against a backdrop of heightened political scrutiny on university campuses. In recent years, state legislation and executive orders in Texas have reshaped campus policies, limiting protest activities and altering faculty governance structures.
The aftermath of the protest has taken a significant personal toll. Professor Wright described being traumatized by his arrest, which involved being restrained and transported to a jail in a neighboring county. He reports continuing to struggle with “intrusive thoughts” about the incident. Professor Admiral detailed months of anxiety over unclear campus access rules, forcing her to constantly justify her presence on university property and carrying a library book as proof of academic purpose. She expressed profound worry about the potential impact on her family, particularly her child.
A student arrested during the same protest, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed frustration that university officials have refused to engage with the demonstration’s core demand: that UTD divest from weapons manufacturers. “UTD has not only refused to hear out what the students want, but has been outright repressive,” the student said.
Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez, editor of the independent student newspaper The Retrograde, views the university’s actions as part of a broader chilling effect on campus discourse. “It is the most arrests we’ve had in a single event,” he noted, adding that the response to a documented peaceful event continues to resonate across campus, even among students who were not present.
Attorney Jump indicated the defendants must now respond to the complaint. She emphasized that her clients seek accountability, noting the university has never apologized or publicly acknowledged their innocence. A separate lawsuit has also been filed by another UTD professor arrested during related protests.
The university, Governor Abbott, and Attorney General Paxton have not publicly commented on the pending litigation.