Federal appeals court will reconsider West Texas A&M drag show ban [View all]

Source: Texas Tribune

HIGHER EDUCATION
Federal appeals court will reconsider West Texas A&M drag show ban

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday tossed a three-judge panel's earlier ruling that found the ban violated students' free speech rights. The court's 17 judges will rehear the case.

BY JESSICA PRIEST
OCT. 27, 2025, 3:01 P.M. CENTRAL


Protesters march against the drag ban at West Texas A&M University in Canyon on March 23, 2023. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday agreed to rehear a lawsuit challenging a university ban on drag shows. David Bowser for The Texas Tribune

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A federal appeals court will take a second look at whether West Texas A&M University can ban drag shows, setting aside an earlier ruling that found the university's ban likely violated students' free speech rights. ... The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday tossed a 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel issued in August and agreed to rehear the case before the court's 17 active judges.

The panel's earlier decision had sided with the student group Spectrum WT, which is represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, after university President Walter Wendler canceled a campus drag show in 2023. The panel majority said the students would've likely engaged in protected expression, pointing to their drag show's context as a ticketed event organized by a LGBTQ+ student group to raise money for a suicide prevention charity, and that the venue, Legacy Hall, was a public forum.

It's not yet clear whether the university plans to resume banning drag shows while the case is under review. A West Texas A&M spokesperson declined to comment Monday.

"Our clients will keep fighting for their First Amendment rights and those of all public university students to express themselves on campus free of the government's heavy hand of censorship," said JT Morris, FIRE supervising senior attorney.

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Jessica Priest
HIGHER EDUCATION REPORTER
jessica.priest@texastribune.org

Jessica Priest covers higher education, working in partnership with Open Campus. She joined the Tribune in 2022 as an engagement reporter in the ProPublica/Texas Tribune joint investigative unit, contributing... More by Jessica Priest
https://www.texastribune.org/author/jessica-priest/

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