Officers Ready For Milo Yiannopoulos' 'Troll Academy' Stop At CSUF On Halloween, PD Says
FULLERTON (CBSLA.com) — A communiqué from the Fullerton Police Department out Friday asserts that their officers are prepared for whatever might transpire during the appearance by the controversial, conservative critic Milo Yiannopolous at a local university.
Yiannopolous is slated to speak at California State University, Fullerton on Tuesday, October, 31, as part of his "Troll Academy Tour."
Fullerton PD says it has been in touch with state and federal law enforcement authorities "to ensure that there are appropriate resources in place to protect the residents and property within the City of Fullerton before, during, and after this speaking engagement."
The press release continues,
"The Fullerton Police Department respects every American's right to free speech; however, the Fullerton Police Department will not tolerate any acts of crime, violence or disorder within the City of Fullerton as a result of this speaking engagement and any threat to residents or property within the City of Fullerton will be immediately addressed."
The announcement comes days after the U.K.-born firebrand's November appearances in Chicago and Kansas City, Missouri were cancelled due to backlash from protesters and safety concerns.
Yiannopoulos, who is gay and recently married a black man, is a prominent figure of the "alt-right" movement, a loose conglomeration of activists whose rhetoric often promotes white supremacy, white nationalism, and men's rights.
In a promotional video for his "Troll Academy Tour," he addresses the irony saying, "Aloha, and 'hello' from Hawaii, where I just got married to my black husband. Worst white supremacist ever—I know."
Warning: The following video contains offensive language.
The CSUF Associated Students, Inc. denounced Yiannopoulos' appearance in a resolution, saying he had "put students in jeopardy by publicly sharing information regarding their gender and citizenship status and planned to publicly name undocumented students at his cancelled UC Berkeley event."
That cancelled "Free Speech Week" event in September drew hundreds of protesters and cost $800,000 in security and precautions, the ASI went on to say in the resolution.
"With a vote to denounce Milo, ASI is sending a signal to conservatives that their voices don't matter and are not represented," CSUF Republicans President Amanda McGuire told The OC Weekly. "Conservative voices are, once again, the first to be silenced."
On Friday, Yiannopoulos' former boss at the far-right website Breitbart News and erstwhile senior adviser to the president Steve Bannon spoke at the California GOP Convention in Anaheim and drew dozens of protesters.
Yiannoupoulos faced backlash earlier this year and left his post as editor at Breitbart after audio of him seemingly condoning pedophilia went viral, an allegation he has fervently denied.
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