The Hecklers Got Off. The Hosts Got Threatened.

On April 21, 2026, 150+ protesters disrupted a DHS General Counsel event at UCLA Law School — shouting “Nazi,” displaying profane signs, and receiving death threats. Nobody was disciplined. The next day, Assistant Dean Bayrex Martí emailed the Federalist Society with a warning: identify the protesters and you could face campus proceedings.

Bayrex Martí, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, UCLA School of Law · Matthew Weinberg, Federalist Society President · James Percival, DHS General Counsel

The UCLA Federalist Society chapter invited James Percival, General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to speak on April 21, 2026. The event was moderated by Professor Gregory McNeal of Pepperdine University School of Law. Approximately 70 people came to hear him.

More than 150 demonstrators organized by By Any Means Necessary (BAMN)and the UCLA Latiné Law Students Association gathered outside and inside. Their pre-event flyer compared Percival to Wilhelm Frick, Nazi Minister of Interior. Inside the room, approximately 50 protest attendees walked out when moderator McNeal announced Q&A would use pre-screened questions only.

Those who stayed disrupted continuously: sustained booing, students repeatedly shouting “Nazi” at the speaker, profane signs including “F**k you loser,”“Stop kidnapping people,” and a sign targeting Jewish FedSoc president Matthew Weinberg by name:“Weinberg — why’d you invite Nazis? Jew to Jew, Shame on You.”Students played doorbell sounds and clicked pens to create continuous noise. At least three were escorted out by UCPD.

UCLA Law Dean Michael Waterstonelater acknowledged that “multiple individuals were issued warnings and escorted from the event or left of their own accord.” The event, he stated, “proceeded to its conclusion.” A conclusion in which the promised open Q&A was replaced by pre-screened questions and the speaker received death threats from the audience.

The day after the event, Bayrex Martí, UCLA’s Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, emailed Federalist Society President Matthew Weinberg. The emails were obtained by Fox News Digital.

Martí had seen requests online to identify students visible in video recordings of the disruption. Her message to the students who had just been subjected to shouted slurs, profane signs, and death threats: don’t share those names.

“I have also seen requests online to identify students in the audience who are visible in video recordings. I would strongly encourage you and other organizers to not disclose those details.”

Bayrex Martí, UCLA Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, email to Federalist Society President Matthew Weinberg — April 22, 2026

The threat was explicit: if names were shared and any protester subsequently faced online criticism from any third party, the Federalist Society itself could be held responsible for “reasonably predictable” consequences under the Student Code of Conduct — subjecting the student organization and its members to campus disciplinary proceedings.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) sent a letter to UCLA urging the university to retract what it described as a threat against the Federalist Society’s First Amendment rights. FIRE program counsel Jessie Appleby wrote:

“Students attending a public, recorded event have no expectation of privacy.”

Jessie Appleby, FIRE Program Counsel — letter to UCLA Law School

“As painful as online criticism may be at times, UCLA may not restrict protected speech merely to shield student protesters from the consequences of their actions.”

Jessie Appleby, FIRE Program Counsel

“Sustained disruption preventing others from hearing a speaker has no place at a university committed to free inquiry.”

Jessie Appleby, FIRE Program Counsel

FIRE also identified the double standard directly: while UCLA threatened the Federalist Society for potentially identifying protesters, BAMN had circulated organizing flyers naming Percival. The Latiné Law Students Association issued a public statement naming and shaming the Federalist Society and Weinberg by name. No disciplinary warning was issued to either group.

This is not a UCLA-specific failure. It is a documented pattern at elite law schools. In every recorded case, the administration either declined to discipline the disruptors or threatened the conservative hosts. Jonathan Turley noted UCLA’s own rules explicitly prohibit what happened — protests “so disruptive as to effectively silence” invited speakers — and then declined to enforce them.

James Hamilton Percival IIis the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — the agency’s top legal officer, responsible for guiding DHS policy on immigration, cybersecurity, and homeland security operations. He was confirmed by the Senate in December 2025.

Before DHS, Percival served as Florida’s Chief Deputy Solicitor General, Chief of Staff to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, and Deputy Attorney General of Legal Policy — all appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis. He clerked for the 11th Circuit and practiced at Cleary Gottlieb. Between college and law school, he was a substitute teacher and missionary in South America.

He showed up anyway. He knew there would be protests. He had been threatened. He came because, he said, the people who work for DHS receive death threats every day just for doing their jobs.