Ann Coulter rejects new speaking date
College Republicans threaten suit to force April 27 appearance
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 student group that invited Coulter is now threatening to sue the school.
The university first announced Wednesday that it was canceling Coulter’s April 27 appearance 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 college Republican group that invited her 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 on April 27, whether the university approves or not.
An attorney for the Berkeley College Republicans group that invited Coulter sent a letter late Thursday to the university threatening litigation if the university does not allow Coulter to speak on campus April 27.
University spokesman Dan Mogulof responded to the lawsuit threat, saying, “We are confident that we are on very solid legal grounds.” Mogulof said the university does not have a venue open April 27 that campus police think can host Coulter without risk to those involved.
Finding a venue, even off-campus, could prove difficult. The relatively small town of Berkeley has only a few venues that could accommodate large crowds, and some property owners would be reticent to rent out their space given the violence that has repeatedly ensued over the past three months when other right-wing groups have staged events in Berkeley.
Reporters at the San Francisco Chronicle called half a dozen venues on Thursday and none said they could or would host Coulter.