Criticism grows after Penn State cancels event with Proud Boys founder

One day after Pennsylvania State University shut down an event that was to feature Gavin McInnes, founder of the Proud Boys, criticism continued Tuesday over the planned appearance and its abrupt cancellation.

The university initially had resisted calls to cancel the event sponsored by a student group, citing the importance of upholding free-speech rights. But officials said escalating violence caused them to cancel the Monday event less than an hour before it was due to begin. The combination of agitated demonstrators, at least one physical altercation, a crowd surge toward the event venue, and chemical spray from both the crowd and police officers led to the decision, Penn State officials said.

One person was arrested, but the school said an investigation was ongoing and others could face charges.

In a statement to the campus community, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi characterized McInnes and Alex Stein, who also was set to appear, as “provocateurs known for their abhorrent views and rhetoric.

The Proud Boys are a far-right extremist group with a history of violence, known for instigating street brawls with perceived enemies, including those in the anti-fascist or antifa movement. Federal investigators have accused leaders of the Proud Boys of conspiring to oppose by force President Biden's swearing-in, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

McInnes stepped down from his role in the Proud Boys in 2018. But Cassie Miller, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center said he continues to promote the group and “remains intimately involved in their internal matters.”

Daryle Lamont Jenkins, a veteran anti-fascist organizer who leads the hate-tracking group One People's Project, attended the protest and said all the aggression and the violence came from the organizers and those attending the event.

A student protest group said hate-group members had sprayed a chemical irritant at people in the crowd. McIness countered, casting blame on the other side.

The Monday event was to be hosted by Uncensored America, which was founded by a Penn State student in 2020 with a stated mission of empowering “young Americans to fight for free speech in order to make American culture free and fun again.” It invited Stein, billed by the group as a comedian and professional troll, and McInnes, billed as a comedian and a political commentator, for a comedy show titled “Stand Back & Stand By” — echoing words used by Donald Trump, addressing the Proud Boys, during a 2020 presidential debate.

“I was clearly censored. Alex Stein was clearly censored,” McInnes said Tuesday. “The room was tiny. Fifty people probably could fit. Fifty people were denied jokes because of the media narrative about Proud Boys being racist, sexist, whatever the f—- they're pushing,” he said, insisting that the group is a “patriotic men's drinking club.”

In a statement, Uncensored America said the organization always encouraged people to be peaceful and condemns all violence. “Sadly, attendees were intimidated by violent protests and could not enter the venue safely,” the organization said.

Stein said characterizations of him as a racist or fascist is “the farthest thing from the truth.”

Miller, of the SPLC, said the event was part of a broader far-right extremist playbook that seeks to use universities as a place to legitimize and normalize harmful ideas. She said violence has followed a previous public appearance of McInnes and wrote a letter to Penn State officials earlier this month voicing her concerns.

In her statement to the campus community, Bendapudi said Stein and McInnes “will celebrate a victory for being canceled, when in actuality, they contributed to the very violence that compromised their ability to speak.” Counterprotesters also were likely to “celebrate a victory that they forced the university to cancel this event,” she said, “when in actuality they have furthered the visibility of the very cause they oppose.”

When asked if he considered the cancellation of the event a “win,” McInnes said no, adding, “Antifa won this round.”

The event drew opposition in the weeks leading to it. A petition calling on the university to stop the event, which it described as “platforming fascists and promoting hateful, meritless disinformation,” garnered more than 3,200 digital signatures.

Wyatt DuBois, a spokesman for the university, said a mass email was distributed to Penn State students, faculty and staff Friday from an anonymous group opposed to the event. The message encouraged direct confrontation with the two speakers, he said. As a result, officials urged the campus community to avoid the event.

On Monday, several hundred students, faculty members and others gathered at an another location on campus for a counterprogramming event emphasizing unity. But many others massed to protest

Stein and McInnes.

Stein walked into the peaceful protest and that escalated tensions, according to Bendapudi. Stein criticized the cancellation on social media, later tweeting a video of him laughing at and taunting furious protesters, one of whom spit on him.

A person wearing all black began brandishing a can before spraying chemical irritants into the crowd, according to a video from News2Share's Ford Fischer. In the clip, police did not intervene.

“Some brave people were pepper sprayed by hate group members enabled by PSU admin to terrorize our campus,” the student group Student Committee for Defense and Solidarity said in an Instagram post. The group was also critical of the police response.

Gary King, a professor of biobehavioral health, watched the protests for several hours.

“I was glad to see Penn State students stand up for something other than a touchdown,” King said, “and lead the way for the administration to follow.”