In early March 2025, a claim spread online that U.S. President Donald Trump said the federal government will stop funding post-secondary institutions that allow "illegal protests."
Social media users shared an image that supposedly showed a post by Trump on Truth Social with the threat. The image circulated on X, Reddit, Bluesky, Threads and Instagram (archived, archived, archived, archived, archived).
In short, the alleged Truth Social (archived) post was real. On March 4, 2025, Trump indeed posted "all federal funding will stop for any college, school, or university that allows illegal protests," without providing specifics. Therefore, we have labeled this claim correctly attributed. The post read in full:
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 on [sic] the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter."
(Truth Social @realDonaldTrump)
It was unclear exactly what he meant by "illegal protests." The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protects the "right of the people peaceably to assemble" but does not cover unlawful conduct. We reached out to the White House for more information about the president's declaration, and we are waiting on a response.
As of early March 2025, there was no official policy measure, whether in the form of a presidential action or congressional proposal, to change how post-secondary institutions receive federal funding based on their policies around demonstrations.
While the First Amendment guarantees people's right to protest in public areas, it does not traditionally cover civil disobedience based on previous court rulings, according to a Cornell Law Review article. The American Civil Liberties Union advises the following in terms of the constitutional protection:
If you take part in a protest
You may:
- Distribute leaflets, flyers or other literature on your own property or on public sidewalks, parks and plazas
- Picket or protest on public sidewalks, parks and plazas so long as sidewalks and building entrances are no blocked
- Chant or sing protest songs on public sidewalks, parks and plazas
You may not:
- Block access to sidewalks or buildings
- Disrupt counter-protests
- Engage in speech that is obscene, makes knowingly false statements of fact, or that is likely to incite an immediate disruptive or dangerous disturbance
- Additionally, you may not be able to march in the streets without a permit in some jurisdictions, and you may be required to follow local traffic rules.