"Exorbitant"

Citing 1992 U.S. Supreme Court case Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement, the letter stated that requiring “exorbitant” security fees for certain groups or events based on the content or viewpoint expressed by the speech can go against the First Amendment. The letter cited the University of New Mexico’s attempt in 2023 to impose security fees totaling more than $5,000 on Turning Point USA — co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk — for an event that October hosted by the organization featuring former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, an outspoken opponent of transgender women competing in women’s sports. A judge issued a preliminary injunction against the college for the fees, the letter stated.”

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson signed onto a letter released Friday that urges college leaders to defend free speech and “say no to the ‘Assassin’s Veto.’”

The letter led by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird cautions college officials against stifling free speech and debate in the name of protecting it through unfair or disproportionate security measures and costs.

“Particularly at this moment, it is critical our state institutions of higher learning serve as forums for robust debate from all perspectives,” Bird wrote in the letter addressed to “presidents and deans of universities and colleges.”

It follows the Iowa Board of Regents directing public universities to quickly investigate and censure, up to job termination, employees alleged to have posted comments celebrating the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In South Carolina, an opinion by Wilson cleared the way for college officials to fire employees for their posts.

Kirk was shot and killed Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University as he debated with students at an outside event.

“The tragedy of Charlie Kirk’s assassination is a sobering reminder that the right to free speech must be protected,” Bird said in a press release on the letter. “Charlie was murdered while debating on a university campus, a place where the free exchange of ideas should be encouraged; we cannot allow the actions of an assassin to stop free speech in any way. Colleges and universities must take steps to keep their students safe while preserving free discussion and open debate.”

Citing 1992 U.S. Supreme Court case Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement, the letter stated that requiring “exorbitant” security fees for certain groups or events based on the content or viewpoint expressed by the speech can go against the First Amendment.

The letter cited the University of New Mexico’s attempt in 2023 to impose security fees totaling more than $5,000 on Turning Point USA — co-founded by Kirk — for an event that October hosted by the organization featuring former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, an outspoken opponent of transgender women competing in women’s sports. A judge issued a preliminary injunction against the college for the fees, the letter stated.

University security policies must be transparent and nondiscriminatory, the letter stated, and security fees must be decided upon in a “content-neutral and viewpoint-neutral manner.” Facility use policies should follow these rules as well, and ensuring the safety of eventgoers and participants should be handled by the institution rather than act as a barrier for certain types of speech, it added.

If universities advertise themselves as being open for public speech and debate, placing more scrutiny and fees on conservative speakers and events — or refusing to host them altogether — while not doing the same for politically neutral or liberal speakers could also violate state Consumer Fraud Acts or Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices laws, the letter stated.

“Universities shouldn’t shut down free speech on campus because of potential danger but should be encouraging civil discourse and condemning political violence at all levels. I believe that’s what Charlie would have wanted, and it’s what I want as well,” Wilson wrote in a release about the letter.

He signed on days after publicly releasing a letter to Clemson University President James Clements making clear that colleges in South Carolina could fire employees over their social media posts about Kirk’s death without risking prosecution. A South Carolina law dating to 1950 makes it illegal to “discharge a citizen from employment or occupation” because of their “political opinions or the exercise of political rights and privileges guaranteed to every citizen.”

While Wilson guaranteed in his letter Monday that the state wouldn’t pursue charges for terminating employees for social media posts he called “vile and incendiary,” he noted fired workers could still sue if they believe their free speech rights were violated.

At least four employees of South Carolina public colleges have been fired since Monday for posts about Kirk, including three at Clemson and one at Coastal Carolina.

In Bird’s letter, the attorneys general pledged to “fully and fairly investigate” colleges in their state for any complaint about unfair security fees or protocols.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice said it received “troubling allegations” that University of South Carolina administrators told student leaders of Turning Point USA and Uncensored America campus chapters that it would not allow any more outside events this semester featuring controversial speakers and activities. The chapters can voluntarily choose indoor venues for safety reasons, but a mandate targeting certain groups is unconstitutional, according to the letter from U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon posted online.

In a follow-up release Friday afternoon, Wilson said he spoke to USC President Michael Amiridis, who assured him that “no policies limiting free speech will be implemented.”

Beyond Wilson, the 15 other attorneys general signing onto Bird’s letter are from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah.

“We trust that you will continue to take steps to keep your campuses safe,” the letter stated. “And we also trust that you won’t use safety as a pretext to silence debate, at a time when it is sorely needed.”

SC Daily Gazette Editor Seanna Adcox contributed to this report. 

Like the SC Daily Gazette, Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

BROOKLYN DRAISEY

Brooklyn Draisey is a Report for America corps member covering higher education across the state for the Iowa Capital Dispatch. An Iowa native, Draisey has covered communities around eastern Iowa through her work at The Daily Iowan, The Southeast Iowa Union, The Gazette and the Quad-City Times. She works to bring the voices of those impacted by policy decisions and large-scale problems to the forefront of stories, from delivery drivers trying to stay safe during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to former tenants of a collapsed Davenport apartment building.

THE WHITE HOUSE:

President Trump Joins Nation in Celebrating Charlie Kirk’s Enduring Legacy

Yesterday (Sept. 21), President Donald J. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and numerous Administration officials gathered with tens of thousands of American Patriots at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to celebrate the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk. It was a celebration of Charlie Kirk’s extraordinary life — ensuring his message of hope, reason, and righteousness endures as a beacon for generations. The Administration — including President Trump, Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and White House Office of Presidential Personnel Director Sergio Gor — shared stirring testimonies of Kirk’s role as a leader, mentor, and motivator who didn't just debate ideas, but ignited souls and forged a movement that now stands stronger than ever. Here are key moments from President Trump’s remarks: “Charles James Kirk was heinously murdered by a radicalized, cold-blooded monster for speaking the truth that was in his heart. He was violently killed because he spoke for freedom and justice, for God and country, for reason and for common sense. He was assassinated because he lived bravely, he led boldly, and he argued brilliantly — without apology… On that terrible day, September 10th, 2025, our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal. He’s a martyr now for American freedom.” (Watch)   “Through it all, the core of Charlie’s message and his basic method never changed... At every campus event, Charlie asked the people who disagreed with him to come forward — and instead of silencing them, he handed them a microphone and let them speak.” (Watch)   “Shortly before Charlie arrived on campus the day he was assassinated, a staff member texted him that there were many critics and students who were opposed his views... Charlie wrote back to the staff member saying, ‘I’m not here to fight them. I want them to know them and love them and I want to reach them and try and lead them into a great way of life in our country.’ In that private moment on his dying day, we find everything we need to know about who Charlie Kirk truly was.” (Watch)   “The radicals and their allies in the media — sometimes referred to, as my son said, the Fake News Media — tried to silence Charlie for a simple reason: because he was winning, and he was winning big... They lied about him because they did not want you to listen to him or learn from him. (Watch)   “Every single American should take a long, hard look at the twisted soul and dark spirit of anyone who would want to kill a young man as good as Charlie Kirk — to kill anybody, but to kill a man like this… and anyone who would make excuses for it.” (Watch)   “Charlie’s murder was not just an attack on one man or one movement — it was an attack on our entire nation… It was an assault on our most sacred liberties and God-given rights. The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at all of us… Indeed, Charlie was killed for expressing the very ideas that virtually everyone in this arena, and most other places throughout our country, deeply belief in. But the assassin failed in his quest — because Charlie’s message has not been silenced, it now is bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and it’s not even close.” (Watch)   “Some of the very same people who spent the last eight years trying to sit in moral judgment of anyone who disagreed with them about politics suddenly started cheering for murder… Some of the very people who call you a ‘hater’ for using the wrong pronoun were filled with glee at the killing of a father with two young children, and the same commentators who this week are screaming ‘fascism’ over a canceled late-night TV show, where the anchor had no talent or no ratings, last week were implying that Charlie Kirk deserved what happened to him.” (Watch)   “No side in American politics has a monopoly on disturbed or misguided people, but there’s one part of our political community which believes they have a monopoly on truth, goodness, and virtue — and concludes they have also have a monopoly on power, thought, and speech… Tragically, atrocities of this kind we saw in Utah of all places are the eventual consequence of that kind of thinking. If speech is violence, then some are bound to conclude that violence is justified to stop speech.”  (Watch)   “The tradition of reason and open debate that Charlie practiced is not a pillar of our democracy; in many ways it’s the basis of our entire society... We will defend it at all costs and we will carry forward the torch of liberty that Charlie Kirk held so proud and so high.” (Watch)   “Perhaps it should be no surprise that Charlie, who spent his life speaking with the critics of these traditions, ultimately became convinced that we needed not just a political re-alignment, but also a spiritual reawakening… He would have been so pleased to hear his friends and colleagues today giving testimony and giving glory to God.” (Watch)   “The lesson of Charlie’s life is that you should never underestimate what one person can do with a good heart, a righteous cause, a cheerful spirit, and the will to fight, fight, fight… Charlie Kirk started with only an idea to change minds on college campuses and instead he ended up with a far greater achievement — changing history.” (Watch) ###