Conservative author and Breitbart News contributor Ann Coulter was forced to abandon an address to students at Cornell University on Wednesday night after repeated shouts, threats, and abuse from attendees saw her silenced.
“The event lasted just a little more than 30 minutes, of which Coulter spoke for less than 7,” reported the Cornell Review, a campus news outlet.
The Network of Enlightened Women (NeW) hosted the event and seats in the auditorium were reportedly limited to those who had registered online. The event was peppered with security officers determined to guarantee Coulter’s freedom of speech was honored.
Videos taken on the night showed how Coulter, an invited guest at her alma mater, was treated as she sought to offer her opinions. She later left due to the repeated, aggressive interruptions.
A male in a beanie and hoodie is seen in one instance screaming, “we don’t want you to be here, your words are violence. … They are threats, you cannot be speaking here. We don’t want your ideas here! Leave! Leave! Your words are violence! Your words are violence!”
He was escorted out by security:
The @AnnCoulter speaking event on Cornell campus (her alma mater) was successfully disrupted by protestor outbursts. Coulter became annoyed and left the venue in approximately twenty minutes. #twithaca pic.twitter.com/gTOUS34jfO
— Zach Winn (@WinnForMayor) November 10, 2022
The Cornell Review further observed protesters “seemed to be employing a chain tactic, beginning just as soon as the last heckler was removed, so as to continuously speak over Coulter.”
Organized outbursts shown in videos include students blaring circus music and whistles on a portable sound amplifier brought into the building for the specific purpose of drowning out the guest.
Two students chanting “no KKK no fascist USA” were seen on another video as they are escorted out by security.
And at the beginning of Coulter’s talk, the dean of students warned the audience that disruptors would be removed and referred to the Office of Student Conduct, the Review reported.
“Eight college-age individuals were removed from the auditorium following Cornell protocols. All Cornell students among the disrupters will be referred for conduct violations,” Joel Malina, vice president for University Relations at Cornell, told the Campus Reform outlet.
“Cornell apologizes to Ms. Coulter and all members of the audience who hoped to hear her remarks,” he added. “The inappropriate behavior displayed by disrupters does not reflect the university’s values.”
Flyers circulated on campus calling for Cornell to deplatform Coulter previewed her arrival, and the Cornell Daily Sun printed an opinion piece titled “Ann Coulter is not Welcome Here,” the Review detailed as background to her silencing.
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