Hundreds protest Ann Coulter event — some arrests made
BERKELEY » There were some arrests, but otherwise the protest against right- wing pundit Ann Coulter’s speaking engagement Wednesday evening at UC Berkeley was tamer than the chaotic clash some university officials had feared.
Campus officials didn’t say what security precautions had been taken ahead of the event, though they did send out an advisory to students notifying them there would be a police presence.
By 7 p. m., hundreds of protesters formed a picket line in front of Wheeler Hall, where Coulter was to speak. Plastic barriers lined the hall, along with dozens of police officers in riot gear. Two hours ahead of the event, protesters said attendees would have to cross them to get in.
Protesters chanted “white supremacy hell no, Ann Coulter has got to go” and held up signs saying “Adios Ann KKKoulter.” No counterprotesters showed up.
But by 8: 20 p. m., UC police tweeted that “multiple masked protesters” had been arrested. A UC police spokesperson did not immediately return calls asking about circumstances or possible charges.
The event, hosted by the
Berkeley College Republicans student group, is titled “Ann Coulter: Adios, America,” after her 2015 book and billed in a Facebook event page as Coulter speaking about “the current United States immigration system and the dangers of mass immigration.”
The book cites several articles and blogs from white nationalists and anti-Muslim activists, according to civil rights organization the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Anti-fascist groups announced plans to rally against the speaking engagement tonight. In 2017, protesters shut down a scheduled speech by former Breitbart News blogger Milo Yiannopoulos by setting off fireworks, starting a fire in Sproul Plaza, smashing windows and clashing with Yiannopoulos’ supporters. Coulter had planned to speak at UC Berkeley that year but called off her event over safety concerns.
Rudra Reddy, external vice president of the Berkeley College Republicans, said the group invited Coulter to speak again because she didn’t get the chance to do so in 2017.
Although many on the left view Coulter as a racist, the group views her as an important figure in national politics given her influence on President Donald Trump’s highly controversial immigration platform.
“If we were to look at controversy as a disincentive, then the Berkeley College Republicans would be inviting nobody,” Reddy said in an interview.
Coulter opened a speech at the University of Colorado at Boulder last year by deriding immigrants as rapists, prompting many attendees to leave.
Despite the protests that spiraled out of control in the past, the university can’t deny the Berkeley College Republicans from putting on the event, said UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof, at least not without risking being sued for millions. The issue has been argued in the courts, Mogulof said, and the ruling has been that the university cannot stop a speaking engagement just because it anticipates a protest.
“That is strictly illegal. If we did that, we would be sued, we would lose and we would run the risk of the courts taking over management of events on campus,” Mogulof said.
Mogulof added that Berkeley College Republicans, like other student groups, is an independent organization and the event is not endorsed by UC Berkeley.