A new video of a Trump-appointed federal judge getting heckled at Stanford University shows the associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion at the law school appearing to smirk as she watches the protesters shout at the man.
Judge Kyle Duncan, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, was invited to speak at Stanford March 9 by the Federalist Society but was met with demonstrators holding signs and shouting at him. Among the protesters’ complaints was how Duncan refused to use a transgender sex offender’s preferred pronouns in a 2020 opinion.
“What is your problem, man? Why would you show up and flash that sign in my face?” Duncan asked one protester holding a sign referencing Duncan and a slang word for a female erogenous zone, according to video exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.
The other protesters are seen bursting into laughter, as Tirien Steinbach, Stanford Law’s associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) turns to look at the sign before appearing to smirk and then cover her face with her hands.
Tirien Steinbach, Stanford Law’s associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion covers her face during a protest. (Fox News Digital )
Steinbach removes her hands as Duncan continues to ask the protester about the sign and remains in her chair without telling any of the students to quiet down, the video shows.
Duncan was unable to hold his speech at Stanford. Instead, Steinbach took over and alleged that Duncan causes “harm” through his work as a federal judge. Steinbach also said she was “uncomfortable” by the anger over Duncan’s presence on campus.
“I had to write something down because I am so uncomfortable up here. And I don’t say that for sympathy. I just say that I am deeply, deeply uncomfortable,” Steinbach said, standing feet from Duncan. “I’m uncomfortable because this event is tearing at the fabric of this community that I care about and I’m here to support.
“I have to ask myself … is the juice worth the squeeze? Is this worth it?”
Tirien Steinbach, the Stanford University Law School associate dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, slams U.S. Circuit Court Judge Kyle Duncan during his presentation at the school as an invited guest March 9, 2023. (Screenshot/ Vimeo/Ethics and Public Policy Center)
The outburst from protesters led to calls for the school to apologize to the judge, and Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz suggested the school reprimand students involved.
Cruz added that the associate dean “thrust herself into the limelight during the allotted time of the event, stole the microphone for over six minutes and proceeded to chastise and condescend to Judge Duncan with the aid of her own pre-prepared remarks.”
Stanford Law School Dean Jenny Martinez and Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne ultimately apologized to Duncan in a letter.
“We write to apologize for the disruption of your recent speech at Stanford Law School,” the two said in a joint statement. “As has already been communicated to our community, what happened was inconsistent with our policies on free speech, and we are very sorry about the experience you had while visiting our campus.”
The apology, however, drew more outrage from protesters, with hundreds of students gathering outside of Martinez’s classroom this week while wearing all black and obscuring their faces with masks that said “counter-speech is free speech.” The protesters formed a “human corridor” stretching from the classroom to the exit of the school.
The Main Quadrangle and Hoover Tower on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. (David Madison/Getty Images)
One anonymous student described the protest as “eerie” to The Washington Free Beacon.
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Duncan has since said the school should discipline the protesters.
“If enough of these kids get into the legal profession,” he told The Free Beacon, “the rule of law will descend into barbarism.”
Stanford Law and Steinbach did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the video.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.
