After a prolonged legal battle with the university over violations of their free speech, students Chike Uzuegbunam and Joseph Bradford have been granted a settlement of $800,000.
Georgia Gwinnett College attempted to avoid the legal ramifications of its actions by changing its free speech policies after the incident.
After a prolonged legal battle with Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) over violations of their First Amendment rights, students Chike Uzuegbunam and Joseph Bradford have finally been granted a settlement of $800,000.
The controversy, which eventually made it all the way to the Supreme Court, dates back to the spring of 2016 when GGC officials restricted Uzuegbunam’s efforts to share his evangelical Christian faith on campus.
After initially running into problems with the administration for preaching outside either of the zones, Uzuegbunam agreed to abide by the school’s policy.
His speech was again stifled, however, when a campus police officer told him to stop, citing complaints from students and a campus policy that prohibited speech that “disturbs the peace and/or comfort of person(s).”
The college attempted to avoid the legal ramifications of its actions by changing its free speech policies after the incident.
Once Uzuegbunam’s case reached the Supreme Court, however, it was decided that a plaintiff is still entitled to damages from violations of their constitutional rights even if they subsequently were granted relief from the violation, as occurred with GGC’s policy change.
Read More: Christian Students Receive $800K in Free Speech Lawsuit Ruling
