The former station manager of ASU’s Blaze Radio station, Rae’Lee Klein, has sought legal counsel after being removed from her role for a tweet that caused an uproar amongst ASU students.
“Upon meeting with a couple of attorneys and finding (an attorney), and having conversations with him, I knew that we had a case here and that my will to fight for the First Amendment was backed by legal,” Klein said. “Me being the fighter that I am, (I) just kind of chose to pursue that.”
Klein went under fire in late August after a since-deleted tweet of a New York Post article regarding Jacob Blake’s shooting and why he had an arrest warrant.
“There’s always more to the story, folks. Please read this article to get the background of Jacob Blake’s warrant,” Klein said in her now-deleted tweet. “You’ll be quite disgusted.”
ASU students, members of Blaze radio station and the Blaze board of directors immediately took to social media, calling for her removal as station manager.
The board of directors does not have the authority to remove Klein, and, after many disagreements between Klein, the board and advisors, Interim Dean Gilger intervened.
GET CAUGHT UP: Blaze Radio meeting hears from station manager after call for removal
In a statement released on Sept. 18, Gilger said “contrary to what she has said or has been reported, student Rae’Lee Klein has not been fired or dismissed from the position of station manager.”
“We have presented Rae’Lee with numerous ways to resolve the situation that take into account the needs of all students involved in the Blaze Radio organization,” Gilger said in the statement.
Klein received community support on social media and from members of the Arizona Legislature and U.S. Representatives.
Congresswoman Debbie Lesko told Downtown Devil in an email that she was “alarmed” by the removal of Klein and even more alarmed that there was no explanation.
“Though they claim her removal was not related to her tweet, without another explanation, that is what I can assume,” she said. “I hope they will respond to my letter and provide further clarification.”
Klein hired Jack Wilenchik of Wilenchik & Bartness, who represented former Sheriff Joe Arpaio in his criminal defense case in 2017. Wilenchik said Klein “not only did something objectively appropriate, but something that a journalist is required to do.”
“I look at Rae’Lee and I see one of an increasing number of people who are standing up against what most people see as an immature attitude, what some would call the cancel culture, and in general, a lot of bias today in the media that just goes without being commented on,” he said.
Wilenchik said that, rather than stay neutral, the university entertained the idea of demanding her removal.
The litigation and trial lawyer also said this case is different because it is about a radio station that is attached to a public institution of the state, which means there is a law in Arizona that protects a student’s right to freedom of speech.
According to the Arizona Legislature’s website, the ARS 15-1864 law states: “A university or community college shall not restrict a student’s right to speak, including verbal speech, holding a sign or distributing fliers or other materials, in a public forum, but may impose reasonable time, place and manner restrictions as permitted.”
“It’s a relatively new law in the world where it goes back to 2011,” Wilenchik said. “But that particular statute…I’ve never seen invoked before,” he said. “And to me, this is a perfect place to invoke it. If we have to of course…if they proceed with removing her.”
Gilger also said in her Sept. 18 statement that they would not remove Klein from her station manager position because of her beliefs. However, in emails to Klein, Gilger said “staying on as station manager is not an option,” and the Dean proceeded to give Klein three options: To stay on the board with an assignment, to reassign her another student worker position, or to start her own station.
At a station-wide meeting of the Blaze on Sept. 16, board members received assurance from Gilger that Klein would no longer be station manager since the board refused to recognize Klein as such.
“The board of directors were very clear with how our stance was going. We said publicly that we no longer recognize her as station manager,” Julia Sorgie, the news director of Blaze, said. “I think it’s already been brought out there that our bylaws did not allow for us to remove her.”
Sorgie said the situation is emotionally taxing, making it hard to concentrate in school and in her internship.
“I never would have thought I’d be job managing an incident like this ever in my life,” she said. “To be doing it as a college student, I think it’s been hard.”
Klein said that, despite communications with Gilger, she refuses to back down.
“I’m just going to continue to fight to hold this position. And if they’re going to remove me from it, then they’re going to be facing an entirely different battle,” she said. “I’m still sticking to the stance that I’m not going to step down. I’m not going to be pushed into a different position. I’m keeping it up to them.”
Blaze faculty advisor Dr. Bill Silcock declined to comment. Interim Dean Gilger stated she would speak when a decision regarding Klein’s position has been made.
Clarification: Klein has not been officially removed from her position as station manager, however, she does not have input over current Blaze Radio programming. As of this update, she is still an employee of the university.
Contact the reporter at pmuse@asu.edu.
