Regent 2L Sues Over Suspension for Robertson Web Post
A Regent University law student has sued the school for suspending him after he posted an online photo of school president Pat Robertson with his middle finger extended.
Robertson was scratching his face with his middle finger in the photo, posted on student Adam Key’s Facebook page, but the gesture appeared to be obscene.
The suit, filed in federal court in Houston where Key lives, claims the school suspended Key without notice or an opportunity to be heard. The Virginian-Pilot puts the period of Key’s suspension at one year while the Tex Parte blog says it is two years.
Key’s suit also alleges the school defamed him and violated his right to free expression, required under requirements of the Higher Education Act for schools that receive federal funds. It also claims he was “fraudulently induced” to enroll at the school on the basis of Regent’s assurances that it allowed religious liberty and free speech.
Key’s lawyer, Randall Kallinen, told the Virginian-Pilot that the school has a double standard.
“Pat Robertson can say anything he wants about anybody,” Kallinen said. “He has advocated the assassination of [Venezuelan President] Hugo Chavez and called for the city of Orlando to be destroyed by meteors and tornadoes. But when Adam Key makes a comment, he gets kicked out of school.”
