A former Morgan State University radio talk show host has filed a lawsuit against the university and the state, claiming officials violated his right to free speech when they ended his show after he criticized Gov. Martin O?Malley.
“My First Amendment rights have been violated,” said Tyrone Powers, who hosted “The Powers Report” on WEAA from 2003 until last January. “This is about free speech and the freedom of the press.
“If a person can be silenced for critiquing politicians, then we?re talking about undermining democratic principles.”
Powers, whose suit seeks $89.5 million in damages, said he has not spoken to officials from Morgan since his show was abruptly canceled.
“We?ve waited and have heard nothing, which is why we?re filing the suit,” he said.
The lawsuit, filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court, claims station management ordered Powers last January to turn over recordings of shows in which he criticized O?Malley.
Then, the suit claims, Powers was called into the office of station manager Donald Lockett and told his show was suspended “immediately and indefinitely.”
“He told me I had not violated any university policy or broken any law,” Powers said.
Throughout his tenure at WEAA, Powers had harshly criticized O?Malley, particularly over what he called the aggressive tactics of the Baltimore Police Department under the administration of the former mayor.
The suit names Morgan President Earl Richardson and the state as defendants.
Morgan officials declined to comment on Powers? claims, and O?Malley?s office did not return phone calls Tuesday.
When Powers lost his show, protesters at the Morgan campus rallied to support him.
Calling the cancellation of his show censorship, the protesters marched to the university?s administration building, but armed guards blocked the doors.
