diff --git a/lib/galaxy/model/security.py b/lib/galaxy/model/security.py
index 764f550a2b11..9c35a283e986 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/model/security.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/model/security.py
@@ -1457,7 +1457,7 @@ def set_user_group_and_role_associations(
         if group_ids is not None:
             self._set_user_groups(user, group_ids)
         if role_ids is not None:
-            self._set_user_roles(user, role_ids or [])
+            self._set_user_roles(user, role_ids)
         # Commit only if both user groups and user roles have been set.
         self.sa_session.commit()