Campus Freedom of Expression Doesn't Include Inciting of a Riot

The University of Colorado Should Fire John Eastman, It is Not a Close Call

Professor John Eastman is a visiting scholar at the University of Colorado Boulder, where I have been on the faculty for 20 years. Last week he played a key role in the incitement of the Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol, resulting in 5 deaths, including a police officer. My university should fire him immediately.

My bona fides on this topic are pretty strong. For instance, in response to my writings on my peer-reviewed research, I was the subject of a smear campaign funded by a billionaire, leading to the loss of a high-profile writing job and an investigation of me by a member of the U.S. Congress. I survived and in 2016 my university’s regents voted unanimously in support of me and academic freedom as a result of these experiences.

I deeply value and support the principle of academic freedom. But the case of John Eastman is not about academic freedom. It is about ethics and professional responsibility — both his and those of leaders of my university.

At the January 6 rally that preceded the invasion of the U.S. Capitol, Eastman was the final warm-up speaker for Donald Trump. In Eastman’s remarks (at 1:47:00 here), he made crazy claims about “secret folders” in voting machines that he says (without evidence) were used to match unused ballots with non-voters after the polls closed, thereby swinging recent elections to Democrats. He alleged that both the presidential election and Georgia runoff elections were a part of this bizarre conspiracy.

As wild and unsupported as these claims are, they aren’t a firing offense. Regent policy at the University of Colorado clearly states that “when university faculty speak or write as citizens … the university shall not censor their expression, initiate disciplinary action against them, or otherwise subject the faculty members to adverse employment actions because it disapproves of the substance of their expression.” Even wildly crazy conspiracy theorizing is protected expression.

That’s why Eastman’s racist, birther conspiracy theory about (then) Senator Kamala Harris presented earlier this year — as abhorrent and ignorant as it was — did not provide a legitimate basis for his removal as a visiting scholar at the University of Colorado Boulder.

This time it’s different. Eastman should be removed immediately because he threatened the Vice President and participated in incitement of a mob that placed at risk the lives of the Vice President and staff and members of Congress, in addition to those who jobs it is to protect them.

In his remarks delivered immediately before Trump, Eastman outlined his election conspiracy theories and then stated:

“We no longer live in a self-governing republic if we can’t get the answer to this question [of a stolen election]. This is bigger than President Trump, it is the very essence of our republican form of government and it has to be done. And anybody that is not willing to stand up to do it does not deserve to be in the office. It is that simple.”

This last comment — “anyone that is not willing to stand up” — is a direct reference to Vice President Pence. Eastman was clearly calling for Pence to be removed from office, a chilling threat given what subsequently unfolded. The Vice President was also focus of remarks delivered by Rudy Giuliani in his introduction of Eastman to the crowd. As they invaded the Capitol, rioters chanted “hang Mike Pence” and a gallows was set up outside the U.S. Capitol.

Without a doubt Eastman played a prominent role in inciting the mob to invade the U.S. Capitol and helped to direct their ire to the Vice President. University policy states that dismissal of a faculty member is allowed when their “conduct that falls below minimum standards of professional integrity.”

Inciting a riot and placing at risk lives of elected officials and police officers is clearly below the “minimum standards of professional integrity.” I’m amazed that I have to write that sentence.

But remarkably, Phil Distefano, the university chancellor, issued a statement explaining why he would not fire Eastman: “I will not violate the law by removing a visiting professor from a position that he will occupy at most for only a few more months.” It is not at all clear what law would be violated, as dismissal for cause is clearly allowed under University of Colorado policies. The chancellor’s statement acknowledges that the campus policy states that a professor cannot be fired because of disagreement, but ignored completely the campus policy that focuses on minimum standards of professional integrity.

The chancellor ignores the importance of accountability and instead says, “As a campus and country, we need to move forward.” This is unacceptable. Incitement deserves consequences.

There are complications — there are always complications. John Eastman is a visiting scholar in the the Bruce D. Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization. Specifically, he is the “Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy” — a program developed over recent years with donations from conservatives in a effort to “diversify” political perspectives on campus. (Update: Here is a statement by the Benson Center direction on Eastman’s role in the January 6 insurrection.)

Bruce D. Benson is the immediate former president of the University of Colorado and a prominent Republican in the state. In addition to providing support for the Benson Center, which hosts Eastman, Benson’s name is also on the university’s earth science building. Benson has been and continues to be a major donor to the university.

I have no idea what role, if any, considerations of Benson’s donations (past or perhaps future) may have played a role in the university’s defense of Eastman. But it sure does not look good. Even if funding has not played a role, one does not have to be cynical to look at the conservative scholar program as a convenient vehicle for demonstrating a campus commitment to free expression in the face of criticisms about its overwhelmingly liberal faculty and community.

Academic freedom is vitally important, and you’ll find few stronger champions than I am. But the Eastman case is not about academic freedom. It is about professional integrity. Failing to uphold principles of professional integrity is as serious a violation of our duties as failing to uphold principles of academic freedom.

The University of Colorado should fire John Eastman immediately. This is a test of our commitment to our shared professional values. And so far, my campus is failing this test.