A history professor alleged his colleague was terminated by a California college for sharing his conservative political beliefs, according to a lawsuit filed on June 1.
The Institute for Free Speech is representing Bakersfield College Professor Daymon Johnson in a lawsuit that alleges his colleague, Professor Matthew Garrett, was terminated by Bakersfield College in April after expressing political beliefs through newspaper op-eds and radio show appearances, according to the text. Garrett was targeted based on his comments that included the defense of the term “cultural Marxism,” according to the Institute for Free Speech. (RELATED: ‘Treated Like A Criminal’: Prof Alleges College Axed His Contract, Banned Him From Campus Over Conservative Beliefs)
IFS represents a Bakersfield College professor in a federal lawsuit seeking to block enforcement of unconstitutional, repressive rules and practices that prevent BC faculty from exercising basic rights to free speech and academic freedom. https://t.co/DmaHTuT9vM
— Institute for Free Speech (@InstFreeSpeech) June 5, 2023
Johnson is Garrett’s successor in leading the Renegade Institute for Liberty, a school coalition of “BC faculty members who value genuine academic freedom, free speech, and critical thinking,” according to the Institute for Free Speech’s press release. The lawsuit alleges the group has been “villainized by the school administration.”
Johnson is requesting that the college be barred from disciplining him based on his political views, according to the lawsuit. Additionally, he is requesting that an injunction be issued to prevent the college from investigating or terminating him based on the content of his speech.
Johnson also faced scrutiny from the college’s administration after he voiced opposition to comments posted on the group’s Facebook by another colleague, according to the lawsuit.
The Institute for Free Speech and Bakersfield College did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.