Tom Alter is fighting for his job and for free speech. He was a tenured professor at Texas State University (TXST). On September 10, 2025, TXST President Kelly Damphousse fired Tom for expressing his political views during a socialist conference. He was attending the conference as a member of the Socialist Horizon organization and on his own time, not the university’s.
A judge ruled that the university had violated Tom’s due process rights and ordered the university to reinstate him. In response, the university said it was reinstating him, but would not let him teach without a hearing. His case has been in the court system since then and will likely not be resolved until at least next year.
The Committee to Defend Tom Alter, a network of labor, socialist, and other activists, fights for his job and right to free speech. The attack on Tom Alter is part of many attacks by the U.S. government and other institutions intended to undermine everyone’s rights and intimidate us.
Speak Out Socialists is a member of the United Left Platform (ULP), an initiative of revolutionary socialist organizations to actively seek opportunities for joint work, given the unprecedented authoritarian assaults facing the left, oppressed communities, and the working class as a whole in the U.S. and internationally. It is united by a commitment to political independence, a strategic focus on social struggle and mass action, and democratic organizing in all efforts. The organizations of the ULP are International Marxist Humanist Organization, Socialist Horizon, Solidarity, Speak Out Socialists, Tempest Collective, and Workers Voice. Members of the ULP are currently working hard with other organizations to defend the Minnesota 15, anti-ICE activists being prosecuted by the federal government.
Here is the latest update from the Committee to Defend Tom Alter.
Major Victory for Tom Alter!
Lawsuit Seeking Reinstatement Can Proceed in Full
The Hays County Judge presiding over Tom Alter’s lawsuit has denied Texas State University’s motion to limit the scope of the lawsuit. The Texas Attorney General’s Office, representing TXST, issued a motion to remove reinstatement as part of the lawsuit and limit who can be sued to just the TXST Board of Regents excluding the university president and provost.
The judge has denied the motion. This allows both Tom being reinstated at TXST to be a part of the lawsuit and for the university president and provost to remain as defendants. With this ruling, discovery can now proceed.
This victory gives new momentum to Tom’s case, which remains a crucial legal battle for free speech, for workers’ rights, and for socialists. Tom continues to speak out publicly for himself and for others. This month he spoke in solidarity in Ann Arbor with the Michigan 8 defendants, and in Hobart, Indiana, in solidarity with locked out British Petroleum workers.
Texas State has until October 12 to appeal this decision before the next scheduled hearing on October 22 to determine if Tom will be reinstated during the duration of the legal process. The lawsuit is not expected to go to a full trial until fall 2027.
The Committee to Defend Tom Alter continues its fight on Tom’s behalf. Stay tuned here for developments on the case: https://defendtomalter.org.
In solidarity,
Bill Mullen
For the Committee to Defend Tom Alter
