[THEFEDERALIST] Fordham University is under investigation from the U.S. Department of Education for allegedly violating a student’s free speech after administrators called the cops on him for Instagram posts. On his personal account, Austin Tong posted pictures with a legally obtained gun and criticized China’s handling of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Tong also posted about the death of St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn, who died trying to stop rioters from looting a friend’s pawn shop. While the school’s website suggests that students enrolled at the university will have "the freedom of inquiry required by rigorous thinking and the quest for truth," its reaction to Tong’s posts shows otherwise. Fordham officials reportedly considered the social media posts "grotesque" and "racist," and sent "two uniformed public safety officers" to the Tong family home in Long Island, New York to "discuss the Instagram posts" and evaluate whether Tong "presented a danger to himself and others," according to the U.S. DOE investigation.
After the visit, the university called Tong "a security threat," despite the fact that officers "very quickly determined Mr. Tong posed no such threat" and that his weapon had been legally obtained. The university, however, shifted its focus to targeting Tong for "several posts on social media related to the current racial issues in the country and political issues in China."
Related:
Fordham University: 2020-06-01 NYU-trained lawyer accused of hurling Molotov cocktail at marked NYPD vehicle
Fordham University: 2019-04-15 Foto selfie tragedy at Fordham University's Keating Clock Tower
Fordham University: 2017-08-27 CNN: 'Ordinary People' Are 'White Supremacists by Default'
Fordham University: 2020-06-01 NYU-trained lawyer accused of hurling Molotov cocktail at marked NYPD vehicle
Fordham University: 2019-04-15 Foto selfie tragedy at Fordham University's Keating Clock Tower
Fordham University: 2017-08-27 CNN: 'Ordinary People' Are 'White Supremacists by Default'