The University of California Berkeley just released a statement saying that "Free Speech Week" has been called off by the Berkeley Patriot organization. Milo Yiannopoulos also announced that he will be canceling his press conference scheduled for 2 p.m.
Demonstrators held an anti-hate rally Saturday in Berkeley as student organizers of “Free Speech Week” decided to cancel their event. But, Milo Yiannapoulos is coming anyway. The controversial right-wing political commentator held a press conference at a secret location and posted it on Facebook Live.”We will not be deterred. We will not be turned away,” Yiannopoulos said. He says he was blindsided when the student group The Berkeley Patriot” pulled its sponsorship. Yiannopoulos still plans to speak outside Sproul Hall Sunday with or without their cooperation.”The administration has done everything in its power to crush its own student’s aspirations. U. C. Berkeley has a deservedly poor reputation for free speech. Student will know less than they did when they came in as freshmen. But you do have to give the school credit. They are masters at bureaucratic dirty dealings.”The university planned to let the event go on. The school released a statement that said in part, “The university was prepared to do whatever was necessary to support the first amendment rights of the student organization.”This included spending more than $1 million if necessary to provide the resources to keep students safe.”Free speech is not hate speech. And we want to be clear right here in the bay area that we do not welcome hate violence in our communities,” protester Lara Kaswani said. Organizers say their message goes beyond free speech week. They are uniting against white supremacy and fascism.”We are drawing a line that we don’t want hate speech. We don’t want any type of violence in our communities,” protester Woods Ervin said. They welcome the recent cancellation of events. But want Berkeley officials and the university to take a strong stand against racism and violence. They plan to be back out protesting Sunday. Click here for a list of speaker times according to the event’s website.
