President Donald Trump said late Monday that he will stop all federal funding for colleges, schools or universities that allow “illegal protests.”

In a post on Truth Social, he said, “Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came.”

What You Need To Know

  • President Donald Trump said late Monday that he will stop all federal funding for colleges, schools or universities that allow “illegal protests"

  • In a post on Truth Social, he said, “Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came”

  • He said American students will also be punished by being permanently expelled or even arrested, depending on the crime

  • According to the nonprofit Bellwether organization, about 42% of higher education institutions are public and receive as much as 27% of their funding from the federal government

The president said American students will also be punished by being permanently expelled or even arrested, depending on the crime.

“NO MASKS!” he wrote in the brief post.

The First Amendment protects students’ rights to free speech on campus. While some schools may limit where, when and how students are able to express their views, such as restricting the use of amplifiers or overnight camping, schools must apply their rules equally to all protesters, regardless of the topic, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

College campuses have long been a hub for student protests on a variety of issues ranging from reproductive rights and immigration policy to climate change and, over the last year, the war in the Gaza Strip.

“It is disturbing to see the White House threatening freedom of speech and academic freedom on U.S. college campuses so blatantly," American Civil Liberties Union Legal Director Cecillia Wang said in a letter of support to universities. "We stand in solidarity with university leaders in their commitment to free speech, open debate and peaceful dissent on campus. Trump’s latest coercion campaign, attempting to turn university administrators against their own students and faculty, harkens back to the McCarthy era and is at odds with American constitutional values and the basic mission of universities.”

The ACLU said the White House is attempting to pressure university officials to target immigrant and international students, faculty and staff, including holders of non-immigrant visas and lawful permanent residents on a path to U.S. citizenship.

According to the nonprofit Bellwether organization, about 42% of higher education institutions are public and receive as much as 27% of their funding from the federal government. About 77% of undergraduates attend public colleges and universities.

Trump’s Truth Social post comes one day after the Senate confirmed former professional wrestler and Small Business Administration director Linda McMahon as education secretary. Trump has repeatedly said that he plans to close the Education Department, which grants federal funding for a variety of higher ed programs.