Ann Coulter event at UC Berkeley draws masked protesters; multiple arrests reported
10 hrs ago
By Brie Stimson | Fox News
An appearance by conservative writer Ann Coulter at the University of California at Berkeley drew a crowd of protesters Wednesday night, in the latest episode of "cancel culture" on the nation's college campuses.
Campus police said on Twitter that "multiple" mask-wearing protesters were arrested.
Covering faces is a violation of campus protest policy, the Bay Area's FOX 2 reported. The station said as many as seven people were arrested.
UC Police, Berkeley
@UCPD_Cal
Multiple masked protesters arrested at tonight's campus event. #AnnCoulter #ucberkeley
8:21 PM - Nov 20, 2019
Video posted online showed Coulter being quickly escorted past protesters into the building where the event, titled “Adios, America,” was held. It was hosted by the Berkeley campus' College Republicans.
(tweets with videos can be viewed at source link)
Coulter started speaking about 15 minutes late because attendees had trouble getting through a “human chain” of protesters who tried to block ticketholders from getting inside the building.
Berkeley College Republicans
@BerkeleyCRs
More than 2000 protestors showed up outside our @AnnCoulter event tonight but we were undeterred. We would like to thank all our attendees, especially those who got punched and kicked while waiting outside. Your contribution to protecting free speech on campus is invaluable!
(video within tweet)
10:42 PM - Nov 20, 2019 · Berkeley, CA
“They can protest all they want and shout their slogans – free speech – I’m cool with that, but I am not cool with having somebody block our way getting in,” said Derrick Main, a Marin County Republican Central Committee member. He told FOX 2 he paid $45 for his ticket.
Andy Ngo
✔
@MrAndyNgo
Left-wing protesters at @UCBerkeley form a human wall with linked arms to block others from entering the @AnnCoulter speech earlier tonight.
(video within tweet)
10:36 PM - Nov 20, 2019
Conservative writer Andy Ngo posted video that appeared to show a woman having her ticket stolen.
Andy Ngo
✔
@MrAndyNgo
Left-wing protesters at @UCBerkeley block a woman from entering Wheeler Hall for the @AnnCoulter event. A protester then pretends to be with the event organizers in order to steal the woman’s ticket.
(video within tweet)
10:39 PM - Nov 20, 2019
Some of the protesters said they were there to promote left-wing causes.
“We’re here to show our support for DACA and also to protest white supremacy,” Hamid Hakimi, a student protester, told Berkeleyside.
Some protesters said they wanted to see the event shut down, but others agreed Coulter had a right to speak.
“I think it’s important that we hear people like her speak to know that this is real,” a student named Aurora told FOX 2.
“What we’re doing by protesting is showing that her specific speech is not welcome here,” student Gianluca Pedrani told the station.
There were two protesters inside the event, but only one was removed because the other agreed to be silent, FOX 2 reported.
The Berkeley campus is frequently the center for free speech debates. In September 2017, a scheduled four-day event dubbed Free Speech Week was canceled over safety concerns. Protesters had sought to silence a featured speaker, provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.
Earlier that year, Coulter canceled an event on the campus, also over safety concerns. She called the situation "a dark day for free speech in America."
“¡Adios, America!: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole,” is also the title of a book written by Coulter in 2015.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mul...eley-uc-police
UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ Promoted Protest Against Ann Coulter
Nov. 21, 2019
TOM CICCOTTA
UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ sent out an email this week in which she encouraged students to protest before Wednesday night’s campus event featuring Ann Coulter.
According to a report by Campus Reform, UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ sent an email to students in which she encouraged students to attend a protest event that was scheduled to take place prior to Ann Coulter’s Wednesday night lecture.
“Hatred is antithetical to belonging, to respect, to understanding, and to learning itself. We must defend our commitment to diversity and inclusion by remaining united in our condemnation of abhorrent ideologies that promote hatred on the basis of an individual’s origins or identity,” the email read.
The email included a list of events that were taking place during the region’s “United Against Hate” week. The list encouraged students to attend a protest against Ann Coulter’s Wednesday night lecture, which took place on UC Berkeley’s campus.
Some Twitter users estimated that as many as 500 people attended the protest against Coulter’s visit to UC Berkeley.
Ryan James Girdusky
✔
@RyanGirdusky
Over 500 people showed up to protest @AnnCoulter at Berkley https://twitter.com/LCRWnews/status/1197350600221966336 …
Left Coast Right Watch
@LCRWnews
Replying to @LCRWnews
There’s actually a huge turnout.
(video within tweet)
7:11 PM - Nov 20, 2019
UC Berkeley College Republicans Vice President Rudra Reddy condemned Christ’s decision to use words like “hate” to describe the Coulter event.
“The real danger is members of the community using nebulous terms like ‘hate’ to encompass mainstream conservative positions, including placing restrictions on immigration in the national interest, and then arguing for the censorship of those points of view in the interest of public safety,” Reddy told the UC Berkeley student newspaper. “It is also a very convenient coincidence that these rallies should fall on the week we are hosting Ann Coulter. Regardless, we are undeterred and the event will go on as scheduled.”
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/...t-ann-coulter/
