A federal judge is blocking Texas A&M University from implementing a ban on drag shows, arguing that it “serves the public interest” for the popular “Draggieland” show to be allowed to take place on campus. 

In a ruling issued Monday, a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Lee Rosenthal, said, “In recent years, the commitment to free speech on campuses has been both challenging and challenged.”

“There have been efforts from all sides of the political spectrum to disrupt or prevent students, faculty, and others from expressing opinions and speech that are deemed, or actually are, offensive or wrong,” she wrote. “But the law requires the recognition and application of speech rights and guardrails that preserve and protect all our treasured First Amendment rights.”

Ms. Rosenthal granted a preliminary injunction against the public university’s ban.

“Granting preliminary injunctive relief to allow the Draggieland performance to occur as scheduled furthers the University’s longstanding interest in fostering free expression on campus and the students’ interest in continuing to engage in, and be exposed to, a range of freely expressed ideas and opinions. The injunction, not the ban, serves the public interest,” Ms. Rosenthal wrote. 

Governor Abbott has been trying to crack down on DEI initiatives across state government and education. In June 2023, he signed a law that was perceived as a ban on drag performance, which was later struck down by a federal judge. 

However, the Board of Regents of Texas A&M, a public university, voted unanimously in February to ban drag performances on all of its 11 campuses, citing President Trump’s executive order targeting gender ideology. 

The university said students could still host their beloved “Draggieland” show, just not on campus.

The move sparked an outcry from the university’s Queer Empowerment Council, which hosts “Draggieland,’ and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed a motion to block the ban.

A supervising senior attorney at FIRE, JT Morris, said in a statement after Ms. Rosenthal’s ruling, “Texas A&M, like any public university, has the utmost duty to respect the First Amendment rights of students. As public officials, they can’t banish speech from campus just because it offends them, any more than they could shut down a political rally or a Christmas pageant.”

The  Queer Empowerment Council said it was “overjoyed” with the decision and said it was “another display of the resilience of queer joy, as that is an unstoppable force despite those that wish to see it destroyed.”

Texas A&M did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment. 

The injunction comes just days before “Draggieland” was scheduled to take place on March 27, which means it could be held at the university’s College Station campus.