Controversial alt-right/conservative figure and former heavy Twitter user Milo Yiannopoulos is attempting to make a return trip to Berkeley in September for what he's dubbed "Free Speech Week," a four-day event on Sproul Plaza now scheduled for September 24th to 27th. Yiannopoulos's planned appearance at Cal back in February, as you'll recall, was the occasion of the first of a series of conflicts in the city between Trump supporters and alt-right activists and leftist activists and students, leading to some vandalism and chaos that spread beyond the campus itself.
In a statement picked up by CBS 5, Yiannopoulos says, "We are going to bring all the people that leftist campus censors hate the most. But we are also sending invitations to liberals, too. We want debates on stage, we want battles of ideas. We want to really have a live demonstration of the value of classical liberalism, of an open marketplace of ideas.”
He's urging protesters and his supporters not to create another violent situation around the event, following what happened in February in the wake of his appearance that was canceled at the last minute.
“I want the violence to be verbal, and I want it to be on stage. And I want the audience to be comprised of people who don’t agree, who come along not knowing what to expect, not knowing what they are going to see and hopefully some of them will have their minds changed. I hope they have their minds changed in my direction. Maybe the other guy will be better. Who knows?”
Yiannopoulos is above all a provocateur who made a name for himself in conservative circles as an outspoken, out gay man who was not afraid to express sexist and racist ideals. He was banned from Twitter last year following a bullying wave targeting the actress Leslie Jones, which arguably he inspired and encouraged.
He had reportedly planned in his February appearance at Cal to out undocumented students and post their photos on stage. In previous campus talks elsewhere, he has used the podium to mock transgender students.
Not long after the February dustup, it came to light that Yiannopoulos had made some statements that seemed to support pedophilia, leading to him losing his job as an editor at Breitbart.
“Free speech has never been more under threat in America especially at the supposed home of the free speech movement," Yiannopoulos said in a statement in April, speaking to Breitbart about his plans for "Milo's Free Speech Week." "I will bring activists, writers, artists, politicians, YouTubers, veterans and drag queens from across the ideological spectrum to lecture, march, and party."
He continued, "We will stand united against the 'progressive' Left. We will loudly reject the venomous hectoring and moral hypocrisy of social justice warriors. Free speech belongs to everyone not just the spoilt brats of the academy.”
Previously: As Berkeley Squabbles Grow, Milo Yiannopoulos Promises 'Grand Comeback Tour'
