Federal judge rules against immediate relief for WT students in drag show lawsuit

by Jamie Burch, ABC 7 NewsTue, March 28th 2023, 4:18 PM EDT

AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — A federal judge ruled against immediate relief for West Texas A&M students in their drag show lawsuit.

In addition to the lawsuit filed on Friday, Spectrum WT also asked U.S District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to grant a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against WT.

Such an order would allow students to hold an on-campus drag show on March 31 as originally planned.

Monday, Kacsmaryk ruled Spectrum WT did not satisfy the ex parte TRO requirements of Federal Rules of Procedure 65(b)(1)(B)

(b) Temporary Restraining Order.

(1) Issuing Without Notice. The court may issue a temporary restraining order without written or oral notice to the adverse party or its attorney only if:

(A) specific facts in an affidavit or a verified complaint clearly show that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result to the movant before the adverse party can be heard in opposition; and

(B) the movant's attorney certifies in writing any efforts made to give notice and the reasons why it should not be required.

Kacsmaryk ordered the defendants (Dr. Walter Wendler, Christopher Tabor, Chancellor John Sharp, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents) to file a written response to the TRO motion by 10 a.m. Thursday.

Barrett Bright and Lauren Stovall, the President & Vice President of Spectrum WT, claim Dr. Walter Wendler violated their First Amendment right to freedom of speech when he canceled the drag show on March 21.