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It appears UC Berkeley is in for another political brawl, this time with Ann Coulter, who tells The Hollywood Reporter that she’ll speak at the famously progressive campus even though administrators are trying to prevent her from doing so.
“Yes, it was officially banned,” Coulter said of her planned April 27 appearance. “But they can’t stop me. I’m an American. I have constitutional rights.”
Coulter had accepted an invitation from two campus groups — the Berkeley College Republicans and BridgeUSA — to deliver a speech about immigration, the topic of one of her 12 New York Times best-selling books.
“If that’s banned, then no conservative can speak,” Coulter told THR on Wednesday. “Meanwhile, corrupt banana republic leaders like Vicente Fox have the red carpet rolled out for them on the taxpayer’s dime.”
Fox, the former president of Mexico, spoke in Berkeley this week.
On Wednesday, though, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the powers that be at Berkeley ordered that Coulter’s speech be canceled, citing riots that erupted when Milo Yiannopoulos and other conservatives have visited the university.
Coulter told THR that before they canceled her, Berkeley administrators insisted that she agree to a list of demands prior to her engagement, and that she accepted their terms.
“I’ve acceded to all their silly demands, which they thought would end it. When I said, ‘yes, yes, yes,’ they canceled anyway. No more clear-cut proof that taxpayer-supported universities will not allow conservative speakers,” Coulter told THR.
“We have been unable to find a safe and suitable venue for your planned April 27 event featuring Ann Coulter,” Berkeley’s vice chancellors told the two groups who were set to co-host the event.
“I’m giving a speech,” countered Coulter. “Speech will go on.”
UPDATE April 21, 2017: Filmmakers for the upcoming documentary, No Safe Spaces, said they will be on hand Thursday filming Coulter at Berkeley. No Safe Spaces stars Adam Carolla and Dennis Prager and is about political correctness on college campuses.
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