Berkeley girding itself for battle over speech
Conservative Ann Coulter vows to give talk university canceled, and city expects violent clashes.
Conservative columnist and commentator Ann Coulter is rejecting an offer to speak at the University of California at Berkeley on a new date after the university canceled her event over safety concerns, then quickly reversed itself, saying it would reschedule it.
Coulter says she can’t make the new date and accused the university of continuing to try to place restrictions on her free speech.
And the Berkeley College Republicans, the student group that invited Coulter, is now threatening to sue the school.
The university first announced Wednesday that it was canceling Coulter’s appearance next Thursday following several political protests in Berkeley that turned violent.
But amid mounting criticism and national attention, the school reversed its decision Thursday, saying that it had found a safe venue to hold the speech on a different date, May 2.
Coulter and the Berkeley College Republicans rejected the new arrangement.
In a series of tweets Thursday night, Coulter criticized the university, saying Berkeley officials were adding “burdensome” conditions to her speech.
She said she had already spent money to hold the event on April 27 and is not available May 2.
Instead, she is vowing to speak in Berkeley next Thursday, whether the university approves or not.
A leader of the Berkeley College Republicans said the group plans to hold the event only if the university provides a venue. But, the group leader said, a national conservative group, the Young America’s Foundation, is separately working with Coulter to explore spaces off-campus where she could speak next Thursday.
An attorney for the Berkeley College Republicans sent a letter late Thursday to the university threatening litigation if the university does not allow Coulter to speak on campus next Thursday.
In the four-page letter, the attorney demands that the university find a venue near the center of campus for Coulter and allow her to speak in the evening rather than during the day.
If that does not happen, the letter says, “we will seek relief in federal court, including claims for injunctive relief and damages.”
University spokesman Dan Mogulof responded to the lawsuit threat, saying, “We are confident that we are on very solid legal grounds.”