A tenure-track assistant professor who was put on administrative leave last year after the university allegedly received complaints and allegations in connection to a talk he gave on the Israel-Palestine conflict, has sued Texas State University over his termination.
Idris Robinson, assistant professor of philosophy, is accusing school officials of violating his free speech and retaliating against him, according to the lawsuit. He is asking a federal court to stop the school from terminating his contract, which is set to end in May.
“After years of outstanding reviews and steady progress towards tenure, Professor Robinson was abruptly placed on administrative leave on June 6, 2025 — just one day after online activists demanded his termination in connection with a speech he gave as a private citizen on a matter of public concern in the Summer of 2024,” the lawsuit read in part.
“Robinson has already suffered irreparable harm in the deprivation of his First Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. Without an injunction, he will also lose his job on May 31, 2026, causing further irreparable harm to him and the young family he supports,” the lawsuit continued.
The university cannot comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson told NBC News in an email.
According to the lawsuit, tensions between Robinson and university officials started after he spoke at the Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair in Asheville, North Carolina in June 2024. His talk was called “Strategic Lessons from the Palestinian Resistance” and covered Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023 and Israel’s military aggression in Gaza. He did not present on behalf of the university, but instead as a private citizen, according to the lawsuit.
A skirmish broke out during his talk between four audience members and three pro-Israel activists, including an 79-year-old Holocaust survivor, who were livestreaming the event.
One victim told ABC 13 that she had her phone knocked out of her hand shortly before the altercation intensified.
The three people filming Robinson’s talk were Jewish and sustained minor injuries, according to local news reports at the time.
Three of the attendees charged in the incident pleaded guilty to simple assault, according to a March 11 statement from the Buncombe District Attorney’s Office. A fourth person pleaded guilty to resisting a public officer. All four were put on supervised probation for one year and must complete 30 hours of community service. They cannot contact any of the three victims.
According to the lawsuit, Robinson was never identified as a witness or suspect in the 44-page police report.
But he said he faced an onslaught of online harassment and calls directed at the university for his termination shortly after.
In 2025, he was placed on administrative leave from Texas State University despite “glowing” performance reviews in recent years. An email to Robinson from university officials explained that “this action is being taken following the receipt and internal assessment of multiple complaints and allegations regarding an incident that occurred in the summer of 2024,” according to the lawsuit.
The university had “worked itself up into a moral panic” over Robinson’s presentation, the lawsuit continued.
“No evidence suggests anyone at TXST had even heard of this public talk at the time it was given. Rather, TXST learned of it when, on June 5, 2025, online activists suddenly began agitating for his firing,” the lawsuit read.
The Instagram post Robinson refers to in his lawsuit accused him of glorifying terrorism and praising Hamas. It listed the university’s phone number and encouraged people to call for his firing. A month later, Robinson received a notice that his contract would not be renewed after May 2026, according to the lawsuit.
Robinson is one of several professors in recent years who have faced disciplinary action over pro-Palestine comments. Last year, academic groups sued the Trump administration for arresting students and faculty members linked to pro-Palestinian protests.
