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Pennsylvania State University called off an event featuring Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes Monday night.
In a statement today, Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi blamed the threat of violence, not the views of the Proud Boys. “Campus police were concerned about escalating violence and public safety,” she said.
The event was to have featured McInnes and Alex Stein, “who are provocateurs known for their abhorrent views and rhetoric,” Bendapudi said. “From the start, Penn State’s administration firmly denounced the two speakers. However, they were invited to speak on campus by a registered student organization and as an institution of higher education, we support the fundamental constitutional right of free speech and free expression of all members of our community. It is precisely because of this unwavering commitment to free speech that provocative individuals target our campus to deliver speeches.”
Bendapudi said, “I am so proud of our students who organized an alternative event to register their disapproval of these speakers, and their disavowal of their hateful messages. I was privileged to be part of the several hundred faculty, staff, students and community leaders inside the HUB-Robeson Center where we gathered for the ‘Together We Are’ event that reaffirmed our unity. Other individuals chose to assemble outside the venue and also exercise their right to free speech in opposition to the invited speakers. It is my understanding that Alex Stein (co-host with Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes) entered the peaceful protest and this action raised the tension. It is unclear which individuals onsite then resorted to physical confrontation and to using pepper spray against others in the crowd, including against police officers.”
There were no injuries, she said.
Bendapudi added, “Tonight, 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. Tonight, counter-protestors also will celebrate a victory that they forced the university to cancel this event, when in actuality they have furthered the visibility of the very cause they oppose.”
