A federal judge has ruled the University of Oregon must pay approximately $191,000 in legal fees after blocking conservative political science professor Bruce Gilley from its official social media account. The ruling follows a two-and-a-half-year First Amendment case that emphasized digital free speech rights.
Gilley sued in August 2022 after being blocked by the university’s Division of Equity and Inclusion account for commenting, “all men are created equal,” on a post prompting users to interrupt racism. He secured a preliminary injunction last summer, which declared the account a limited public forum, protected by viewpoint neutrality.
In March 2025, the university settled by agreeing to overhaul its social media policy: banning viewpoint-based censoring, creating appeal processes, and mandating annual First Amendment training for staff.
The court’s decision assigns the $191,000 fee to the university’s insurer, topping over $724,000 already paid by the university in legal expenses. The judge highlighted that blocking Gilley’s retweet quoting the Declaration of Independence was unconstitutional.
Institute for Free Speech Senior Attorney Del Kolde commented, “The university made a costly decision to prioritize DEI principles over constitutional principles…”.
Portland State University’s Gilley, recognized for his 2017 “Case for Colonialism,” now serves as a visiting scholar at New College of Florida.
