Coulter on Berkeley Speech: 'They Were Hoping I Would Cancel'

Ann Coulter has canceled her speech at UC - Berkeley because of violent threats from protesters - and yet somehow, her invitation is what's been discussed as an example of fascism.

Berkeley officials say their handling of the protests over Ann Coulter's canceled appearance was a success thanks to a massive police presence that ensured the city did not become a "fight club".

Numerous protesters have "Build That Wall" or "Trump" stickers across their helmets and several are concealing their identities wearing mirrored ski goggles over their eyes.

Coulter had publicly floated the idea of making a controversial visit to Berkeley despite the cancellation, but did not show. Civic Center Park in downtown Berkeley.

Dozens of demonstrators gathered near the campus and rallied to show support for free speech and condemn the views of Ann Coulter and her supporters. It said "both individuals' affiliation to UC Berkeley is unknown at this time", and did not elaborate about the reasons for the arrests. "Berkeley College Republicans do not want to endanger people's lives so because of the university's unwillingness to do their job we are forced to cancel the event", Troy Worden, president of the campus Republicans, said Wednesday. Berkeley police Capt. Alex Yao confirmed at a news conference "highly visible law enforcement" would be on hand Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

But a university spokesman said organizers of the speech didn't follow proper protocol and that the speech was never formally scheduled.

Obviously, he's correct in saying that a movement that depends on violence isn't going to be a success, but I have just one question: How on earth can he consider the people who were fighting on the streets to be "anti-fascists" in the first place?

"That's not about free speech", the CNN host said.

Shutting down speech is not only unconstitutional, it violates one of the university's primary values.

"It's a sad day for free speech", Coulter told The New York Times.

The reality, at Berkeley and on campuses nationwide, is that the selectivity about who may speak and where and when nearly exclusively applies to conservative speakers (and those who are pro-Israel).

Yesterday Coulter announced she would not make a planned appearance at University of California, Berkeley.

GONZALES: That's right. And the university has been criticized from the left and the right for cancelling Coulter.

Protesters from the International Socialist Organization held what they called n "Alt Right Delete" rally with signs reading "Refuse Fascism" and "Fascist free campus". Far-right and far-left groups have been implicated in multiple violent confrontations.

Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, the rally's final speaker, read some of the speech Coulter meant to give and called her a hero who was censored and betrayed.

Earlier this month, a bloody brawl broke out in downtown Berkeley at a pro-Trump protest that featured speeches by members of a self-described white nationalist group. It is certainly inequitable that the victims of the protestors-the groups who sponsor the speakers whose events are disrupted-now have to bear the cost for the actual or imagined unlawful behavior of protestors who have chose to suppress thought they hate. Later today, there's a pro-Coulter and pro-Trump group called the Proud Boys who will stage an event at a nearby park.

They offered the college Republicans, who had invited Coulter, a different date and venue for the speech, but were turned down.