In a complaint filed with the Florida Atlantic University Police, a student has claimed that an online statement made by former GOP congressman Allen West made her feel “in danger while at school.”
“As students, we deserve to feel safe exercising our First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and express our grievances with the University,” Stephanie Rosendorf wrote in her complaint. “These days you never know if a threat on social media is to be taken lightly, and in this case it certainly should not be. Allen West is making me feel in danger at school.”
According to a piece in The Raw Story, Rosendorf fears some of West’s followers might use the statement as an excuse to act violently.
“As a student at FAU and a member of the community, I felt shocked and threatened to see Allen West’s comments,” she said in an email. “We as students should be able to exercise our First Amendment right to peacefully assemble without fear of violent retaliation from Allen West or any of his like-minded followers. I urge the University to take extra steps to ensure that Allen West is not allowed on or near our campus.”
In a Facebook post, West said that FAU students would see “the side of me that you do not want to see” if they continued make his wife the target of their protests. He went on to accuse the students of stalking his wife and sending “letters to her company headquarters.”
“How dare you animals attack my wife and her professional reputation. This is your one and only advisory notice,” he said.
According to The Raw Story, “West’s wife is a member of FAU’s Board of Trustees. The board has faced student-led protests over a $6 million stadium-naming deal with private prison operator GEO Group. The private prison company has been accused of mistreating and neglecting inmates. GEO Group backed out the deal on April 2.”
Angela West told New Times Broward Palm Beach she felt harassed because students came to her office uninvited and also called for her to be fired.
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