Ann Coulter vows to speak at Berkeley despite cancellation

“We have been unable to find a safe and suitable venue,” said the letter from Vice Chancellor Scott Biddy and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Stephen Sutton. “Given current active security threats, it is not possible to assure that the event could be held successfully.”

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter Wednesday.

The cancellation comes days after violent clashes between far-right and far-left protesters Saturday at a rally supporting President Donald Trump in downtown Berkeley.

University spokesman Dan Mogulof said that campus police learned that some of the groups that appeared to be responsible for the violence last weekend and at the Yiannopoulos event “planned to target the appearance of Ann Coulter on campus.”

Last week, posters went up on campus threatening disruption of the event and officials also found chatter on various websites indicating the possibility of planned violence, Mogulof said.

In its letter, the university said the students and officials could work together to reschedule the event for a later date. It noted that “most Mondays and Tuesdays in September during the day should work.”

Coulter posted eight tweets in a span of 17 minutes after the AP and others reported the cancellation Wednesday. She called claims of the university trying to set up an alternate date “FAKE NEWS!”

The event was being co-organized by a campus group called BridgeCal and the Young America’s Foundation, a conservative group that books Coulter’s campus speeches.

“We have no intention of acceding to these unconstitutional acts,” the Young America’s Foundation said in a statement. “The Ann Coulter lecture… will go forward.”

Jocelyn Gecker, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Ann Coulter vows to speak at Berkeley despite cancellation

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