BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry on Tuesday called for LSU and the university's Board of Supervisors to punish an LSU law professor who was perceived as being critical of his students who voted for President-elect Donald Trump. 

In a lecture the day after the general election, Professor Nicholas Bryner told students who voted for Trump on the merits of his policy, despite their personal feelings about the man's conduct, that they must "prove that by the way you conduct yourself and by the way that you treat other people around you." 

"I will say that I hear a lot about how groups of people in the law school, particularly Black students, don't feel comfortable in the law school, don't feel welcome here," Bryner said in the lecture, which was recorded on Zoom and obtained by Landry, who posted an excerpt of it online. "And so I want you all to think a little bit about why that is."

The professor, who teaches climate change law, then talked to his students about how "there's a pretty big rejection of that idea that we should be governed by experts." 

"I think it's worthwhile to consider that and think about that as you go into law school, finishing your law school career and go into law practice, how you're going to handle that sentiment," Bryner said in the lecture.

Landry initially posted the excerpt of Bryner's lecture on his social media profiles on Nov. 17.

"This is not the kind of behavior we want at LSU and our universities," Landry said in the post.

This professor has defied the 76 million Americans who voted for President @realDonaldTrump - to silence and belittle those in his class who voted for our next president. This is not the kind of behavior we want at @LSU and our universities. pic.twitter.com/ncGETXE2Qs

— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) November 17, 2024

Now, a little more than a week after posting the video, Landry wrote a letter to LSU's Board of Supervisors, asking them to "look into the matter, as LSU professors are prohibited from utilizing state resources to influence public policy."

Landry cited a recently enacted statute — La. R.S. 17:3399.39 — in his plea to the Board.

The statute, which went into effect in June, says that "the Constitution of Louisiana guarantees that each person, including a college or university student, has the right to 'individual dignity' and further provides that protections are guaranteed against discrimination based upon the student's 'political ideas or affiliations.'" 

Kelly Benjamin, a representative from the American Association of University Professors, said that this sends the wrong message about free speech in universities. 

"(It will) send a chilling message to both students and faculty in Louisiana that the right to freedom of speech extramural speech as well as academic freedom in the classroom. is not tolerated if it goes against the wishes of the governor," Kelly Benjamin, an AAUP representative, said. "I don't see how asking students to think about the implications of their political choices is inconsistent with, the principles of ethics or academic freedom in the classroom."

Earlier in the fall, Landry signed an executive order to "protect free speech for all higher education institutions across Louisiana," deputizing the state Board of Regents to report violations of free speech and expression on campus. Landry said a primary focus of the order was to ensure that students "do not fear retribution from their teachers or classmates simply because they disagree on speech or politics."

"The impact of my executive order appears to be short-lived in the eyes of some professors," Landry said in his letter.

Our Administration will not stand by silently as this professor defies the voices of 76 million Americans who voted for @realDonaldTrump. pic.twitter.com/BSAtWud2m3

— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) November 26, 2024

Louisiana Democrats said that Landry's call to punish Bryner is ironically politicizing the classroom. 

“The so-called ‘party of free speech’ seems intent on silencing voices in our classrooms when those voices don’t align with their agenda,” Young Democrats of Louisiana President Jay Braxton said. “This isn’t about protecting students or fostering dialogue — it’s about shutting down educators who dare to challenge the status quo.”

State Democratic officials said that the chilling effect this would create violates free speech. 

“Louisiana deserves leaders who protect — not persecute — academic freedom,” Louisiana Democratic Party Chair Randal Gaines said. “Unfortunately, Landry’s actions come at no surprise considering his other recent acts of political encroachment. He is not respecting the personal views of those whose opinions and perspectives are different from his, and he is improperly using his elected position to push his own personal agenda in our publicly-funded schools and spaces. We have to fight back.”