Uncensored America Founder Sean Semanko said during a press conference Wednesday that the organization is suing the university.
“We have filed a lawsuit against the University of South Carolina for violating our First Amendment rights by failing to remain viewpoint neutral and thus denying funding,” Semanko said.
Student Government denied funds to the organization on Sept. 11 for its controversial event that will bring Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and controversial commentator Milo Yiannopoulos to campus for a "roast" of Vice President and 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
No lawsuits against the university have been filed under the organization's name on state or federal public indexes as of Wednesday afternoon. During the conference, Semanko would not show reporters the suit he held while speaking and would not take any questions.
Brendan Connors, the president of USC's Uncensored America Chapter, told The Daily Gamecock the organization was "still confirming with our attorney" when asked for a copy of the lawsuit.
University spokesperson Collyn Taylor said the university cannot comment on any potential or pending litigation.
Student Body President Patton Byars said he was unaware of the lawsuit until the time of the press conference.
Semanko said other lawsuits are incoming.
Several counter protest events have been planned in response to the Uncensored America event taking place on campus. Numerous student groups signed a letter, disavowing the event on Sept. 3. A petition calling for the university to take steps to remove the event from campus or cancel it altogether had garnered 26,941 signatures at the time of its writing.
Editor's note: This is a breaking story. Check back for more updates.
Emmy Ribero contributed to the reporting.