Conservative firebrand Ann Coulter has announced plans to deliver a talk on illegal immigration at the University of California, Berkeley—the site where anarchist protests against Milo Yiannopoulos turned violent earlier this year. Those protests escalated into a full-scale riot as black-clad vandals destroyed public property and defaced private businesses across the city.
Coulter is being hosted by the Berkeley College Republicans chapter, which describes her speech as a chance for the school to redeem its reputation. Long considered the “birthplace of the free speech movement,” UC Berkeley has recently come under fire for its often-censorious student body, who call for “safe spaces” against “threatening” speech.
In the wake of acts of violence and harassment against Trump supporters and College Republicans, the student organization and Young America’s Foundation formally invited Coulter to speak in hopes of creating discourse on campus.
“We have invited Ms. Coulter to speak at UC Berkeley because she has been one of the most vocal critics of illegal immigration in all its manifestations and was one of the earliest supporters of President Trump, from when he initially announced his candidacy down to the present day,” the student group told Campus Reform. “The Berkeley community has shown itself to be hostile to both of these stances; therefore Ms. Coulter is the perfect individual to engage in a spirited debate on topics such as President Trump’s travel ban and sanctuary campuses.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Coulter said she expects to draw a crowd, that may perhaps be less than civil.
“I hear they’re nice people at Berkeley and expect a pleasant event and stimulating exchange of ideas,” she said.
The school’s administration has washed its hands of any association with the event, stating to Campus Reform that the Berkeley College Republicans have the right to invite anyone they choose, but that it should in no way be construed as an official UC Berkeley endorsement.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
