Sessions Says Justice Dept. Has Helped Preserve Free Speech on Campuses

Attorney General Jeff Sessions made clear on Monday that the Justice Department will oppose colleges and universities that stifle free speech on campus, a cause championed by conservatives who say their voices are silenced in higher education.

“Today, freedom of speech and thought have come most under attack on the college campus,” Mr. Sessions said at a forum on free speech in higher education hosted by the Justice Department. “The most important time to defend a valued right is when it is being attacked or eroded.”

Mr. Sessions said the Justice Department has written so-called statements of interest in four lawsuits against colleges and universities over free speech-related cases, including at the University of California, Berkeley; Pierce College in Los Angeles; Gwinnett College in Georgia; and the University of Michigan. The Justice Department has sided with students in the cases who say campus policies have stifled their ability to speak freely.

Mr. Sessions said the statements of interest, legal tools used to interject the federal government in private disputes, have had an effect. Michigan changed its policy, and in other cases, judges allowed the lawsuits to go forward after the Justice Department stepped in, he said.

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