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Wirtshafter v. Trustees of Indiana University

From May 2024 to January 2026
Indiana University of Bloomington (Public college or university)
107 S Indiana Ave, Bloomington, IN 47405

Identity of Speakers

  • Jasper Wirtshafter
    Student
    Other

    Jasper is a Bloomington resident.

  • Benjamin Robinson
    Faculty/Staff
    Other

    Benjamin is a tenured professor of German Studies at IU Bloomington.

  • Madeleine Meldrum
    Student
    Other

    Madeleine is a current IU graduate student.

Resources

Additional Information

  • Incident Nature:
    Rally or protest
    Lawsuit
  • Incident Political Orientation:
    Left wing
  • Incident Responses:
    Faculty sanctioned
    Student sanctioned
    Rally or Protests
    University administration invoked formal speech code in response
    Litigation
    State Campus Free Speech Act
  • Incident Status:
    In litigation Federal District Court
    Held unconstitutional
  • Did not involve Speech Codes

Summary

In April 2024, a pro-Palestinian encampment took place on Dunn Meadow at Indiana University. Following the encampment, IU Police issued no-trespass warnings to 10 individuals, including four professors, three graduate students, two alumni, and one employee, barring them from campus for varying periods. Several of the plaintiffs had been arrested during the encampment. By July 2024, all no-trespass warnings had been rescinded.

In May 2024, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit on behalf of the 10 plaintiffs, arguing that the no-trespass warnings and other restrictions violated the First Amendment by limiting students’ and faculty members’ rights to free expression. The protests had advocated for a ceasefire in Gaza, called for divestment from Israel, and criticized Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people.

On August 1, 2024, IU implemented an Expressive Activity Policy that limited expressive activity to between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., prohibited camping and impeding traffic, and required 10 days’ approval for temporary structures. Five plaintiffs received letters of reprimand for activity after 11 p.m., though these were later rescinded. In November 2024, the Board of Trustees amended the policy to allow approved expressive activity outside the 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. window.

A preliminary injunction issued in May 2025 blocked enforcement of the overnight restrictions, allowing expressive activities to continue. In January 2026, federal judge Richard Young ruled that the August 2024 policy violated the First Amendment, describing it as a “virtual ‘First Amendment Free Zone’ on IU property.” He ordered IU to expunge all disciplinary records resulting from the policy, including letters of reprimand, and found the claims against the November 2024 amendments moot. The court denied requests for damages against IU President Pamela Whitten and Superintendent for Public Safety Benjamin Hunter, granting them qualified immunity, and allowed IU to issue future trespass warnings as long as they were not content-based.