The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, along with Kapitan Gomaa Law and Hawks Quindel, today announced the filing of a federal lawsuit against the University of Kentucky, officials in the University administration at its law school and the Trump Administration’s Department of Education for punishing tenured Professor Ramsi Woodcock over his criticism of Israel.
Because school officials are applying Israel-specific rules that violate First Amendment protections for political discourse, the lawsuit calls on the court to order the University of Kentucky to end Professor Woodcock’s suspension and stop investigating his speech about Israel.
SEE The Guardian: Tenured professor sues University of Kentucky for banning him from law school over comments on Israel | Kentucky | The Guardian
President Trump’s executive orders (Executive Order 13899 and his January 29, 2025, presidential action) and Kentucky law require school officials to apply special rules to discussions students and professors have about Israel. CAIR says this violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment because it applies only to views critical of one particular foreign country.
Earlier this year, University of Kentucky officials suspended Professor Woodcock from teaching at the law school and banned him from the building. They did so because officials objected to his academic views on Israel and sought to comply with federal and state rules prohibiting speech critical of Israel.
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in Lexington and names University of Kentucky officials, including President Eli Capilouto, as well as Secretary Linda McMahon of the Department of Education.
Rima Kapitan of Kapitan Gomaa Law said:
“This lawsuit implicates the broader purpose of the First Amendment, which is to ensure that students and the public generally are permitted to engage not only with speech that government officials approve of but with speech by citizens and scholars about some of the most important and urgent political and legal questions of our time.”
“Professor Woodcock is being punished for the benefit of a foreign country,” said CAIR National Deputy Litigation Director Gadeir Abbas. “If the Free Speech clause of the First Amendment protects anything, it must protect the right to criticize any foreign country – even Israel.”
Earlier this year, CAIR released its 2025 Civil Rights Report, Unconstitutional Crackdowns, which reveals that Islamophobia remains at record-high levels nationwide. CAIR said viewpoint discrimination against those speaking out against genocide and apartheid was a key factor in many cases.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Litigation Director Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR National Staff Attorney Ahmad Kaki 202-640-4935, akaki@cair.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com