Ann Coulter Won’t Let a Few AntiFa Scare Her Away From Berkeley

Claiming they could not find a suitable venue and that they were unable to guarantee her safety, administrators at UC Berkeley today canceled a speech by Ann Coulter scheduled for April 27. Coulter, not surprisingly, essentially said, “Screw you!” to the administration and that she’s coming anyway.

In an email to sponsors Berkeley College Republicans and Bridge USA, administrators said:

“We have been unable to find a safe and suitable venue for your planned April 27 event featuring Ann Coulter. In the wake of events surrounding the planned appearance by (right-wing speaker) Milo Yiannopoulos in February, as well as several riots which have occurred in recent weeks in the city of Berkeley, we have increased our scrutiny regarding the time and location of high-profile speakers so that these events can go forward unimpeded.”

The student groups were upset because there had been ongoing discussions with administrators about conditions for Coulter’s appearance, including that the speech be limited to students only and that the speech take place during the day. The groups and Coulter agreed to each demand, only to have the administration still cancel the event.

Coulter planned to speak on immigration, the same topic former Mexican president Vicente Fox spoke on during an appearance at the school in February  – a fact Coulter brought up to The Hollywood Reporter:

“If that’s banned, then no conservative can speak,” Coulter told THR on Wednesday. “Meanwhile, corrupt banana republic leaders like Vicente Fox have the red carpet rolled out for them on the taxpayer’s dime.”

The Young America’s Foundation, which was paying for the bulk of Coulter’s speaking fee, released a statement saying, in part:

Against our advice, Coulter agreed to all these requirements. In return, she requested two measures, which actually had something to do with safety:

1) That the University of California chancellor request that the Oakland chief of police refrain from telling his men to stand down and ignore law-breaking by rioters attempting to shut down conservative speakers, as he has done in the past; and

2) That UC-Berkeley announce in advance that any students engaging in violence, mayhem or heckling to prevent an invited speaker from speaking would be expelled.

As Coulter explained, “If Berkeley wants to have free speech, it can have it.”

The university’s response was to ban her speech.

Images of last weekend’s violence are fresh in everyone’s minds, and concern is warranted. Much of the problem lies at the feet of local authorities, who have done nothing to ensure that harsh, immediate consequences – whether through the UC system or the criminal justice system – fell upon those who would use violence and intimidation to silence political enemies.

So, of course they’re (AntiFa) going to keep doing this. They are getting what they wanted! They shut down Milo’s speech. Just the thought of what they’ll do got Berkeley administrators to cancel Coulter’s speech. The supposed adults in the room don’t have the backbone to do what it takes to truly ensure safety.

And now, you have the Berkeley AntiFa tweeting out a week ahead of time that they’re going to riot for the Coulter speech:

How to deal with Ann Coulter at #ucberkeley on the 27th #antifa https://t.co/yHlIKErwoZ

— Berkeley Antifa (@berkeleyantifa) April 19, 2017

… and… good luck to you, Ann. You’re going to need it.

(P.S. Kudos to the Berkeley College Republicans for having more cajones than any other GOP group in the state.)

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