Totalitarians at the University of California, Davis shut down an appearance by gay conservative firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos and former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli Friday night.
According to the UK Daily Mail, the school's student-run Republican group called off the talk a half hour before it was scheduled to begin, after consulting with the UC Davis Police Department when large, loud, aggressive crowds gathered outside the Science Lecture Hall, shouting "Shut it down," among other slogans.
"The decision was made initially because the lives of the officers were threatened, the lives of the students were threatened as well as the property of the school," said Andrew Mendoza, Executive Director of the Davis College Republicans.
Protesters blocked access to the venue, and several students displayed a banner that read, "Hey you, your fascism is showing." Apparently it was lost on them that the fascists are the ones opposed to free speech.
Yiannopoulos went to Facebook to attribute the cancellation to "violence from left-wing protesters": "There are reports of hammers, smashed windows and barricades being torn away. The campus police can't guarantee anyone's safety so I'm not being allowed anywhere near the building. Stay safe, everyone."
The school later issued a statement denying that there were broken windows or other property damage. "'Earlier in the evening, one person was arrested inside the venue. No further arrests were made."
Interim Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter had previously announced that a "safety plan" had been established in preparation for the event. The Daily Mail stated that he defended the First Amendment and told students, "I suggest, for your consideration, that one strategy for disabling [Yiannopoulos'] message is simply not to attend."
After the cancellation Hexter said he was "deeply disappointed" by the outcome: "As I have stated repeatedly, a university is at its best when it listens to and critically engages opposing views, especially ones that many of us find upsetting or even offensive."
Another day, another capitulation to campus totalitarians. The inmates have taken over the asylum.
