Citing concerns of violence, the University of California at Berkeley trampled on the First Amendment and cancelled a scheduled appearance by fiery conservative author, Ann Coulter.
Berkeley saw several outbursts of violence occur at anti-Trump rallies on Tax Day, when radical, masked “Antifa” protesters demanding President Trump’s tax returns sparred with supporters.
Never one to simply accept liberal efforts to squash free speech, Coulter vowed to speak at the campus regardless.
“They can’t stop me,” she insisted. “I’m an American. I have constitutional rights.”
“What are they going to do?” Coulter dared. “Arrest me?”
This is shaping up to be an interesting showdown between the far-left, anti-free speech haven at Berkeley, and the First Amendment-loving conservative author.
Via the Hollywood Reporter:
It appears UC Berkeley is in for another political brawl, this time with Ann Coulter, who tells The Hollywood Reporter that she’ll speak at the famously progressive campus even though administrators are trying to prevent her from doing so.
“Yes, it was officially banned,” Coulter said of her planned April 27 appearance. “But they can’t stop me. I’m an American. I have constitutional rights.”
Coulter had accepted an invitation from two campus groups — the Berkeley College Republicans and BridgeUSA — to deliver a speech about immigration, the topic of one of her 12 New York Timesbest-selling books.
“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.”
Fox, the former president of Mexico, spoke in Berkeley this week.
Here’s Coulter daring the University to arrest her if she gives the immigration speech …
Ann Coulter Tells #Tucker: ‘I am giving the speech in Berkeley anyway. What are they gonna do, arrest me?pic.twitter.com/UzGi5TiKX0
— Journalism Is Dead (@TheDailyBail) April 20, 2017
Coulter claims the college was never really going to let her go through with the speech anyway, making ridiculous demand after demand.
“I called their bluff,” Coulter said, when she agreed to their numerous outrageous rules, only to see them cancel anyway.
“It has nothing to do with anyone’s political views,” a Berkeley spokesman explained. “We believe in unqualified support to the First Amendment. But we also have an unqualified focus on safety of our students.”
You can’t claim “unqualified” support for freedom of speech and then immediately follow it up with actual qualifications.
This past February, President Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the University for their assault on the First Amendment.
If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view – NO FEDERAL FUNDS?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017
Perhaps it’s time to revisit that thought once again.
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