( CNN ) -- Former Weather Underground militant Bill Ayers will appear at the University of Wyoming on Wednesday after a federal judge ruled he ca n't be barred from speaking on campus . U.S. District Judge William Downes ordered Tuesday that the university must take `` all prudent steps '' to guarantee Ayers ' security at his lecture . The university had argued that `` serious threats '' prompted it to cancel the appearance by Ayers , who is now a University of Illinois education professor . Downes ' two-page order requires university officials to take `` all prudent steps to maintain order and provide for the security of participants and spectators . '' University officials wo n't appeal the order , said spokeswoman Jessica Lowell . University President Tom Buchanan said the school `` will do everything in our power to provide a safe and secure environment for his visit . '' Ayers became a footnote to the 2008 presidential campaign because of his history of violent opposition to the Vietnam War and his acquaintance with then-candidate Barack Obama . Some prominent Republicans suggested that Ayers was a shadowy influence on Obama during his 2008 presidential bid . GOP presidential candidate John McCain urged Obama to `` come clean '' about his relationship with Ayers and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin accused Obama of `` palling around with terrorists . '' Ayers and Obama served on the Annenberg Challenge board and on the board of another Chicago , Illinois , charitable foundation , the Woods Fund , in the 1990s . A CNN review of the two men 's history found nothing inappropriate in their dealings , and Ayers later called the attacks `` a profoundly dishonest narrative . '' David Lane , a lawyer for Ayers and University of Wyoming student Meghan Lanker , called Tuesday 's ruling `` inspirational '' and `` a huge victory for the First Amendment . '' Ayers was scheduled to speak on education issues at the university in early April , but the longstanding invitation drew controversy as the date neared . Republican candidates for governor condemned the school for inviting him , and in court papers Lanker stated she was told Ayers ' appearance `` would inflame public sentiments '' and hurt the university . But university officials said they pulled the plug because they had `` serious threats and other information concerning potential violence '' and argued that Ayers could speak freely somewhere else . `` The UW administration did not bar Ayers from campus , but denied permission to rent space for a large event on university property because of serious security concerns , '' Buchanan said on the school 's website . Ayers was a leader of the Weather Underground , a radical anti-war group that claimed responsibility for bomb attacks on the U.S. Capitol , the Pentagon and about 20 other targets . No one died in those attacks , though three Weather Underground members blew themselves up building another bomb in 1970 . Ayers and his wife , fellow Weather Underground member Bernadine Dohrn , spent a decade on the run before surrendering to authorities in 1980 . The charges against him were dropped due to illegal wiretaps and prosecutorial misconduct .
Federal judge orders university to allow ex-radical William Ayers to speak . Judge also orders University of Wyoming to ensure his safety . Speech was canceled over security concerns , university officials say . Ayers is former leader of Weather Underground .