UC Berkeley cancels Milo Yiannopoulos speech after violent protests erupt
'Alt-right' commentator evacuated from campus after mob started shooting fireworks at union building
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.UC Berkeley has cancelled a planned speech by far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos after violent protests erupted on campus.
Officials were forced to call off the event when a crowd of up to 1,500 people reportedly started toppling street lamps, setting fires and shot fireworks at the venue.
The Breitbart editor and “alt-right” Twitter troll had been invited by the Berkeley College Republicans to address an audience of 500.
The Martin Luther King Jr student union had already been heavily reinforced behind several layers of police barricades however violence escalated and the police placed the campus on lockdown, advising students to shelter in place or leave the area.
“It was simply impossible to maintain order given the level of threat, disruption, and violence,” the administration said in a statement.
Dozens of extra police officers had been placed on duty and attempted various methods of crowd control, however they were unable to calm the demonstrations.
“I have been evacuated from the UC Berkeley campus after violent left-wing protesters tore down barricades, lit fires, threw rocks and Roman candles at the windows and breached the ground floor of the building,” Mr Yiannopoulos said in a statement posted on Facebook.
“My team and I are safe. But the event has been cancelled. I'll let you know more when the facts become clear. One thing we do know for sure: the Left is absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it down.”
More than 100 faculty members signed a letter urging the university to cancel the speech.
However, Berkeley’s chancellor said it would be “unconstitutional” to shut down a debate “based on the viewpoints those speakers may express.”
The conservative figure was due to deliver the speech as part of his controversial anti-political correctness tour “Dangerous F****t.”
A man was shot and wounded at protests outside his talk at the University of Washington on 21 January and protests at UC Davis earlier in the month prompted campus Republicans to cancel his appearance.
He was due to deliver his last speech at UCLA on 2 February, however his invitation was rescinded. Berkeley would therefore have been his final visit.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments