LSU prof who talked Trump in class faces blowback

In November, Republican Louisiana governor Jeff Landry publicly targeted a law professor at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge for allegedly making meandering—but brief—comments in class about students who voted for Donald Trump. Landry posted on social media a video from an unknown source allegedly showing Nicholas Bryner telling students, “if you voted for Trump on the idea that you don’t like him personally but that you like his policies, I just want you to think about the message that that sends to other people.”

The governor declared online, “This professor has defied the 76 million Americans who voted for President @realDonaldTrump” and called for the institution to punish Bryner. It’s unclear whether LSU ever did—Bryner and the university haven’t commented on the outcome, while Daniel Tirone, president of LSU Baton Rouge’s Faculty Senate, said he hasn’t heard of any discipline for Bryner, who has tenure.

However, a lawyer representing another LSU Baton Rouge law professor says her client has now been suspended from teaching, pending an investigation of his own in-class comments. Ken Levy, the Holt B. Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the flagship LSU campus, had referenced both Trump and Landry in his lecture—which was also recorded.

Levy, who also has tenure, received a suspension letter Jan. 17 from a human resources official, according to a copy provided by Jill Craft, his attorney. It says, “You are being relieved of your teaching responsibilities, effective immediately, pending an investigation into student complaints of inappropriate statements made in your class during the first week of the Spring Semester 2025.”

What were Levy’s actual comments? On Jan. 14, he was explaining his course rules to Administration of Criminal Justice students—including a ban on recording the class. A recording was nevertheless made; a student who supports Landry provided it to Inside Higher Ed, but it’s unclear where it originated. Craft said students with classroom accommodations were allowed to record.

Levy told his students that “some of you may have heard that one of my colleagues is now in the national news,” referring to the Bryner situation. “I frankly, like, forward my shit to the governor,” Levy said. “I generally don’t have a problem.” He said he “would love to become a national celebrity [student laughter drowns out a moment of the recording] based on what I said in this class, like, ‘Fuck the governor!’”

“Taken out of context, I might seem like a bit of an ass,” Levy continued. “… So, you’re not allowed to record me.” He said if students forwarded recordings to anyone, “I could put you in jail”—a joke, Craft said, because this was a criminal class that dealt with questions of who has the authority to jail people.

Later in the class, Levy referenced Trump. Talking about how criminal law and procedure have changed over time, Levy said, “We’re now about to move into an autocracy anyway, so a lot of this may be moot in about two weeks.” He said, “You probably heard I’m a big lefty, I’m a big Democrat, I was devastated by— I couldn’t believe that fucker won, and those of you who like him, I don’t give a shit, you’re already getting ready to say in your evaluations, ‘I don’t need his political commentary.’ No, you need my political commentary, you above all others.”

Levy also said, “I don’t know what Trump is doing, I don’t care what he’s doing, if they’re going to kill me they’re going to kill me … I’ve just tuned out the news and— It’s too depressing, and those of you who like it, you know, what’s wrong with you?” There were more laughs from students.

Craft said she doesn’t know which specific comments were complained about, and the university hasn’t provided more specifics. She’s filed a temporary restraining order and injunction request in state district court seeking to get Levy back in the classroom immediately. In it, Craft alleges that “one student complained to the governor and, in turn, calls were made to the LSU administration.” Spokespeople for Landry and LSU didn’t respond to Inside Higher Ed’s requests for interviews or answer written questions this week.

Craft told Inside Higher Ed that “if we are truly going to be in a place where we second-guess an educator of law students’ pedagogy, how he uses humor and creates robust debate in a class, then we, as a society, are in a terrible position.” In her view, this “signals a dangerous path toward pure censorship and taking away academic freedom in its purest form.”

The LSU Black Law Students Association has released a statement on Instagram calling for Levy’s reinstatement and an apology from the university. The group said Levy was “one of the few professors dedicated to teaching criminal law and empowering students to understand and challenge systemic injustice.”

A group of students protested Levy’s treatment Tuesday outside the main entrance of the law school. Jack Harrison, an assistant professor of professional practice in the law school, was there. He had only seen a transcript of the comments, but said, “I don’t really see the basis for the actions … that were taken against him.”

“Law school professors criticize everybody, and it is probably such that the greater criticism is going to be directed to those who are currently in power, regardless of party, regardless of political persuasion,” Harrison said. He said law professors must look “with a critical eye at the laws that they’re teaching.”

Levy remains free to publish while he’s barred from the classroom. In October, he published a law review article titled “The First Amendment in Education: May Public Schools Discipline Faculty for Political Hate Speech?”