Milo Yiannopolous was supposed to deliver a second speech to Chicago’s DePaul University, but will now have to host his undoubtedly provocative talk elsewhere. School administrators denied a College Republican group’s request to use school facilities for Milo’s return visit.
Yiannopolous was set to deliver his first address to DePaul University students on May 24, but protesters from Black Lives Matter and some campus groups stormed the stage and commandeered the microphone. Milo and his team were harassed and threatened, confronted by the angry protesters and unaided by security (for which DePaul University had made Milo’s team pay).
This time, though, DePaul just doesn’t want to go there.
In a letter to the College Republicans, Vice President of Student Affairs Eugene Zdziarski said he wouldn’t even try to hold the event. “[H]aving consulted with Public Safety and having reviewed last Spring’s events,” he wrote, “it is clear that it would not be possible for DePaul to provide the security that would be required for such an event.”
But lest you think the special snowflakes who stormed the stage and harassed Milo and his crew created the impossible-to-meet need for additional security, Zdziarksi goes on: “Mr. Yiannopoulos’ words and behavior contained inflammatory-speech, contributed to a hostile environment and incited similar behavior from the crowd in attendance. In addition, he led an unapproved march through campus that created a potentially dangerous situation.”
Zdziarksi claimed to have viewed the whole speech and says he found Milo at fault for the “hostile environment.” Naturally, Milo objected. DePaul campus Republicans are now reportedly consulting attorneys to discuss next steps.
Yiannopolous and his team threatened to sue DePaul after the last speech, noting that while they had been made to pay for additional security, DePaul had failed to provide, leaving them stranded and under attack. Protesters later claimed that Yiannopolous had “threatened their safety,” an accusation not borne out by video or eyewitness accounts of the event.
Shortly after the Milo speech, DePaul University students hounded then-President Fr. Dennis Holtschneider over his response to the event – and his subsequent apology to Milo – eventually forcing him to resign.