A recently released video appears to show an administrator at Furman University attempting to confiscate fliers that were being handed out by conservative students during a peaceful protest of a Rev. Jesse Jackson event.
The private, liberal arts college in Greenville, S.C. denied that Special Events Coordinator Gayle Warth had attempted to take away the fliers, but the students’ account — and video evidence — contradicts this claim, Campus Reform reports.
Lauren Cooley, a conservative student at Furman, organized the protest of the Jackson event. Her group handed out pamphlets before the event that were designed to look like official programs but instead contained facts about Jackson’s controversial past. (RELATED: TIRADE: Rev. Jesse Jackson talks Redskins, Reagan and racism)
The video shows Warth instructing one of the student protesters to give her all the fliers. The student offers to give her some of them, but insists on retaining the rest for distribution. When Warth presses him to turn over the rest, the student says, “I mean, this is my official right to free speech. I’m not giving them to you.”
Warth then asserts that the students can’t hand out pamphlets without “pre-approval,” and threatens to take the fliers away from students who already received them.
Vince Moore, a spokesman for Furman, told Campus Reform that no one’s rights were violated.
“Furman is satisfied that no one was prevented from expressing their opinions,” he said in a statement.
Warth did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Caller concerning whether she did or did not attempt to seize the fliers.