Stanford law students protest after university apologises to Trump judge who was heckled during lecture

The judge brought a camera crew with him to film the students’ reactions

Trump-appointed Judge Kyle Duncan on campus at Stanford University Law School during a controversial visit (screengrab/News Nation)

Students at Stanford University's law school are protesting a dean who apologised to a Trump-appointed judge whose visit to campus sparked outrage among the student community.

Photos obtained by the Washington Free Beacon showed the interior of dean of students Jenny Martinez's classroom covered with white paper. Each sheet included a statement, slogan, or argument, including phrases like "counter speech" is free speech" and one asking "where is our apology?"

Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan visited the school Thursday to discuss "COVID, guns, and Twitter" at an event hosted by the campus's conservative Federalist Society.

Mr Duncan correctly anticipated there would be protesters against his appearance on campus and arrived with a camera crew to film the students' responses, according to Slate.

After insulting the students — calling one of them an "appalling idiot" and later describing their behaviour to "dogs***", Mr Duncan took to the conservative media circuit to complain that he was mistreated.

Ms Martinez issued an apology to Mr Duncan on behalf of the university.

"We write to apologize for the disruption of your recent speech at Stanford Law School," she wrote, in a co-signed letter with Marc Tessier-Lavigne, the president of Stanford University. "As has already been communicated to our community, what happened was inconsistent with our policies on free speech. We are very sorry about the experience you had while visiting our campus."

This incensed students further, leading some to plaster her classroom with the sheets of paper. After the class was over, the protesting students lined the hallway outside her room. They wore masks that read "counter speech is free speech." They stood in silence while Ms Martinez passed.