Judge blocks West Point from enforcing faculty speech restrictions 

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Trump-era restrictions that prevent faculty at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (USMA) from speaking to external groups without permission. 

U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel agreed with a longtime law professor that the policy likely violates civilian professors’ free speech rights under the First Amendment. 

“And even affording Defendants due deference in the realm of military affairs, their stated justifications for the Academic Engagement Policy do not warrant such a broad and standardless intrusion on Plaintiff’s speech and that of other USMA civilian faculty members,” Seibel wrote in her 85-page opinion. 

Seibel is an appointee of former President George W. Bush who serves on the federal bench in New York. 

The Hill has reached out to a West Point spokesperson for comment.

West Point implemented the new policy last year shortly after President Trump retook the White House.  

It requires faculty........

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