Trump vows to stop federal funding for any school that allows 'illegal' protests
FILE-President Donald Trump appears at a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump is pleading to halt federal funding for any schools that permit what he refers to as "illegal protests."
His policy calls for tough penalties, including expulsion or arrests for American students, deportation, or prison time for foreign participants.
Trump’s message about ‘illegal protests’
What we know:
President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Tuesday and wrote, "All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter."
RELATED: Judge blocks Trump’s executive order banning federal support for DEI programs
What we don't know:
Besides Trump’s message on social media, his administration has not offered details or guidance on the policy.
Trump’s warning comes after he pledged to make changes to the nation’s education system, including a pledge to close the Department of Education and grant its authority to states.
The other side:
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), an organization focusing on protecting freedom of speech on college campuses in the U.S. responded to Trump's message on social media writing:
"Free speech on college campuses is a proud American tradition, and — on public campuses — protected by the First Amendment. President Trump's message this morning, combined with other recent executive orders threatening punishment for protected speech, is deeply chilling," FIRE wrote on X.
Trump’s executive order directed at critical race theory and antisemitism on college campuses
Dig deeper:
In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for schools to stop teaching what he views as "critical race theory" and other material dealing with race and sexuality or risk losing their federal money.
RELATED: Trump signs executive order aiming to cut federal funding for ‘woke’ schools
Trump said he wants to end classroom lessons on gender identity and structural racism, to abolish diversity and inclusion offices, and wants to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ sports.
In a separate plan, the Trump administration called for aggressive action to fight antisemitism on college campuses, promising to prosecute offenders and revoke visas for international students found to be "Hamas sympathizers."
Trump to address Congress
What's next:
President Donald Trump is addressing Congress on Tuesday night, six weeks into his presidency, which has involved slashing the federal bureaucracy, imposing tariffs on other countries, multiple executive orders, and pausing all U.S. military support for Ukraine.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform, previous LIVENOW from FOX reporting, and the Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.