Editor’s Note: This is a developing story, and will be updated accordingly.
Texas State University (TXST) is now at the center of a lawsuit following the dismissal of Thomas Alter, a recently tenured associate professor of history, who alleges that the institution violated his constitutional rights and breached his employment contract.
According to local sources, Alter was terminated earlier this month—just ten days after being awarded tenure—following remarks he made at a Sept. 7 conference organized by Socialist Horizon, a self-described revolutionary socialist organization launched in 2024 amid protests against U.S. support for Israel. The group seeks to build a democratic, non-sectarian, working-class movement against capitalism, imperialism, and war.
At the conference, Alter said, “without organization, how can anyone expect to overthrow the most bloodthirsty, profit-driven mad organization in the history of the world—that of the U.S. government.” His remarks were secretly recorded by a right-wing YouTuber who had infiltrated the event. The footage was later circulated online and forwarded to politicians and media outlets. Alter was dismissed from TXST within three days of the incident.
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As reported by Inside Higher Ed, in a statement announcing the termination, TXST president Kelly Damphousse said Alter’s “actions are incompatible with their responsibilities as a faculty member at Texas State University.” Alter, however, told CBS Austin that he did not identify himself as affiliated with the university at the conference. And his lawsuit, filed in district court, contends that TXST’s actions violated his First Amendment rights by penalizing him for constitutionally protected speech made in a personal capacity.
And, in a twist of irony, the lawsuit also alleges that the university disregarded due process and breached contractual obligations tied to Alter’s newly granted tenure. “In truth, Dr. Alter was terminated because he espoused views that are politically unpopular in today’s politically charged climate,” the suit reads.
It’s ironic because Alter relies on the very principles his own ideological allies have dismissed when conservative faculty faced similar consequences for resisting “diversity, equity, and inclusion” mandates or gender ideology. In those cases, many in the academic mainstream framed dismissals as justified penalties for “hate speech.”
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Now, as the pendulum swings, Alter’s case has become part of a broader pattern in which left-wing professors face scrutiny or termination for their political speech—most recently for expressing favorable views of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Whatever the outcome of Alter’s case, the lawsuit will undoubtedly add to the debate over academic freedom and the limits of faculty expression, testing whether universities can consistently uphold tenure and free speech protections or whether political pressure and public outrage will continue to dictate the boundaries of acceptable speech in higher education.
Minding the Campus contacted TXST, but a spokesperson said the university would not comment on ongoing litigation.
Image: Texas State University at San Marcos sign by Billy Hathorn on Wikimedia Commons
Moral Turpitude is one of the three reasons to fire a tenured professor — and while it is usually thought of unmarried women getting pregnant (which it once was) it is both more than that and still around.
One definition of Moral Turpitude is “an act or behavior that gravely violates the sentiment or accepted standard of the community.”
In Texas, he probably did violate the “accepted standards of the community” — and that will be decided by “the community”, i.e. a Texas Jury. And he gets to sue over this — but Moral Turpitude is grounds to terminate a tenured professor.