Right-wing activist holds short, small California rally
BERKELEY, Calif. — Right- wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos blew kisses, posed for selfies and briefly addressed a few dozen supporters at the University of California, Berkeley, while a slightly larger crowd protesting his blink- and-you- miss- it appearance Sunday was kept away by police.
Yiannopoulos, wearing sunglasses and an American flag hoodie under a denim jacket, spoke without amplification for a few moments Sunday on the steps of Sproul Hall. Then he led a rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” before being whisked away in a car.
Jake Wall, a college student from Los Angeles in town to visit his girlfriend, described Yiannopolous’ appearance as a “meet-and-greet.” He said Yiannapoulos couldn’t make any points without a microphone and promised his admirers he’d return to deliver a proper address.
“I think the administration made it impossible for him to give a speech,” Wall said. “When you can’t speak through a mic, how effective was that?”
Those hoping to hear a speech were herded through metal detectors, while demonstrators who came out against it were held behind barricades on Sproul Plaza, the center of activity on campus during the 1960s Free Speech Movement.
A conservative campus group previously said a planned four-day event dubbed Free Speech Week was canceled. However, Yiannopoulos announced Saturday that he would appear with other conservative firebrands at an unsanctioned rally.
Pro- Yiannopoulos marchers toted signs saying “Stop liberal intolerance, support Trump,” while those on the other side shouted slogans like “No Trump, no KKK.”
Kat McLain, 26, said she considers herself a liberal but decided to come out to support conservatives’ right to be heard.
“A lot can be gained if we’re willing to listen to these people,” said McLain, a film student at San Francisco State University. “There’s no way to come to a peaceful resolution until we can stop and talk to each other.”
The conservative student group Berkeley Patriot, which had been organizing the Free Speech Week event with Yiannopoulos, told university administrators the group would cancel it, the university said.