Read the Josh Hawley Insurrection Flyer That Nearly Cost a Stanford Law Student His Degree

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A student at Stanford Law School is set to graduate despite a serious threat made by the school over a satirical flyer produced that mocked Senator Josh Hawley and the Stanford Federalist Society.

In what can best be called a curious misunderstanding of the First Amendment by what many had (previously?) thought to be one of the nation’s top law schools, Stanford threatened to block the graduation of third-year student Nicholas Wallace, after he sent a satirical flyer to a listserv used for debate by classmates. The flyer was a parody listing for an event held by the Federalist Society, a conservative organization for lawyers with a chapter at Stanford Law School.

According to Slate, a formal complaint was filed against Wallace by a top Stanford Federalist Society officer, claiming that the piece of satire “defamed” the organization and caused “harm” to its members. Stanford subsequently launched a formal investigation, and Wallace received the complaint against him on his last day of classes, including the threat to block his graduation.

But satire is covered by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, a simple fact that one might expect, you know, a Law School to be familiar with. One could argue that the notion of satire is subjective, but when one reads the specifics of the flyer, sent days after the January 6th Capitol riots, it’s abundantly clear that it was not a serious missive. To wit:

Please join the Stanford Federalist Society as we welcome Senator Joshua Hawley and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to discuss violent insurrection. Violent insurrection, also known as doing a coup, is a classical system of installing a government. Although widely believed to conflict in every way with the rule of law, violent insurrection can be an effective approach to upholding the principle of limited government. Senator Hawley will argue that the ends justify the means. Attorney General Paxton will explain that when the Supreme Court refuses to exercise its Article HI authority to overturn the results of a free and fair election, calling on a violent mob to storm the Capitol represents an appropriate alternative remedy.

The good news in this ordeal is that Stanford has caved to public pressure, and removed the threat of blocking Wallace’s graduation. A spokesperson for Stanford law school released a statement to Slate staff writer Mark Joseph Stern that announced the decision after discussing it with legal counsel. Again, Stanford Law School publicly admitted to asking their lawyers how to handle this clear and obvious First Amendment case.

This surely is a relief for Wallace, as he can now graduate from Stanford Law School. The less than good news for Wallace, however, is that the reputation of the institution that bears its name on his diploma? Well, it’s not nearly as well regarded as it was before this entire incident was reported.

You can see a version of the flyer below, via Mark Joseph Stern’s Twitter feed:

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