| LOS ANGELES (2/14/2017) – Caleb O’Neil, a freshman student at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Calif, will appeal his suspension from the college after being sanctioned for videotaping an instructor engaged in an anti-Trump rant last November following the presidential election. O’Neil will appear with his attorney, Bill Becker, founder, president and general counsel of Freedom X, at a news conference scheduled for Wednesday, February 15, 2017, at the college to address his appeal of the suspension and answer reporter’s questions. O’Neil was notified that he is suspended from the summer term and a full semester on February 9, 2017, in a letter sent by Interim Dean of Students, Victoria Lugo. Freedom X will file a Notice of Appeal on Wednesday with the college arguing that O’Neil’s constitutional and legal rights have been violated. The Notice argues that the sanctions imposed on O’Neil are excessive, that the college retaliated against O’Neil in violation of his constitutional and legal rights by unlawfully discriminating against him on the basis of his conservative political views and that the college violated O’Neil’s due process rights by conducting a partisan probe into the incident last November in O’Neil’s “Human Sexuality” class.
In addition to the suspension, O’Neil is required to submit a written apology to the instructor, Olga Perez Stable Cox, and write an essay analyzing, among other things, “the impact of the video going ‘viral’ and ensuing damage to Orange Coast College students, faculty and staff.” Becker stated: “This is an attack by leftists in academia to protect the expressive rights of their radical instructors at the expense of the expressive rights of conservative students on campus.” O’Neil, a member of the College Republican group voted for Donald Trump to become president and often wore clothing with messages promoting the Trump candidacy to class. He was in fear of retaliation by his instructor after she launched into a half-hour rant in which she labeled Trump a “white supremacist” and told the class she would no longer tolerate any person who voted for Trump. O’Neil videotaped the rant over concerns that his grade might be lowered for the class because of his outward show of support for Trump. He intended to use the video to present to the administration as evidence of his concerns. This will be O’Neil’s first public appearance. Seal Beach attorney Shawn Steel initially represented O’Neil and remains of counsel to Freedom X providing assistance. O’Neil was notified that he is suspended from the summer term and a full semester on February 9, 2017, in a letter sent by Interim Dean of Students, Victoria Lugo. Freedom X will file a Notice of Appeal on Wednesday with the college arguing that O’Neil’s constitutional and legal rights have been violated. The Notice argues that the sanctions imposed on O’Neil are excessive, that the college retaliated against O’Neil in violation of his constitutional and legal rights by unlawfully discriminating against him on the basis of his conservative political views and that the college violated O’Neil’s due process rights by conducting a partisan probe into the incident last November in O’Neil’s “Human Sexuality” class. In addition to the suspension, O’Neil is required to submit a written apology to the instructor, Olga Perez Stable Cox, and write an essay analyzing, among other things, “the impact of the video going ‘viral’ and ensuing damage to Orange Coast College students, faculty and staff.” Becker stated: “This is an attack by leftists in academia to protect the expressive rights of their radical instructors at the expense of the expressive rights of conservative students on campus.” O’Neil, a member of the College Republican group voted for Donald Trump to become president and often wore clothing with messages promoting the Trump candidacy to class. He was in fear of retaliation by his instructor after she launched into a half-hour rant in which she labeled Trump a “white supremacist” and told the class she would no longer tolerate any person who voted for Trump. O’Neil videotaped the rant over concerns that his grade might be lowered for the class because of his outward show of support for Trump. He intended to use the video to present to the administration as evidence of his concerns. This will be O’Neil’s first public appearance. Seal Beach attorney Shawn Steel initially represented O’Neil and remains of counsel to Freedom X providing assistance. This will be O’Neil’s first public appearance. Seal Beach attorney Shawn Steel initially represented O’Neil and remains of counsel to Freedom X providing assistance. WHERE: Outside of the OCC Administration Building 2701 Fairview Road Costa Mesa, CA 92626 WHEN: 1:00 p.m. WHO: Bill Becker, Esq., Freedom X Caleb O’Neil Joshua Recalde-Martinez NOTE: Mr. Becker will be available for media interviews only through Thursday and will be inaccessible for 10 days thereafter.
Freedom X is a non-profit public interest law firm and advocacy center protecting conservative and religious freedom of expression. To learn more about who we are and what we do, please visit www.freedomxlaw.com. We win lawsuits like this one to protect your right to express time-honored, traditional views. The Left is using every trick in the book to make you buy into its extreme agendas. It wants to radicalize you. We are doing our part to resist this enemy. Please consider supporting our efforts with a monthly tax-deductible gift. |
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