Richard Spencer, a prominent figure in the alt-right movement, was recently banned from Twitter. (Facebook)
Protests broke out on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville during white nationalist Richard Spencer’s October 19 UF speech. The speech started with Spencer and other people on stage verbally confronting chanting protesters, with Spencer labeling them “preschoolers” and “shrieking and grunting morons.” Another man on the stage called protesters “animals.”
Chanting and booing protesters came close to drowning out Spencer. “You are yelling at a dissident intellectual,” Spencer claimed. “You are cowardly trying to shut down a movement that is growing and that is going to stand up for white people and is going to stand up for the oppressed.” The speech has ended, but you can watch a replay below:
In a disjointed opening, Spencer said: “White liberals don’t actually care about you. To them, you are a prop. You are a mascot.” Asked why he doesn’t take responsibility for the violence in Charlottesville, in which a counter protester was killed when a car rammed into her at a white nationalist rally, Spencer said: “What happened with the death of Heather Heyer remains unclear…Are they going to throw me into moral prison? Not only do I not call for violence. I have explicitly called for peace and for dialogue.” He said that all he demands is that James Fields, the accused killer of Heyer, deserves a fair trial. He alleged that Fields was “used as a scapegoat. His vehicle was attacked.” Spencer also said that Fields was attempting to escape, calling it a “very ambiguous situation. He deserves justice.” (Witnesses and the police chief in Charlottesville called the attack deliberate when it occurred. Fields had posted on Facebook about Hitler and Nazis.)
Another man with Spencer called the chanting members of the audience members of the “Communist Antifa.”
Tensions were also high in advance of the speech as the Florida governor declared a state of emergency for Alachua County as fears of violence grew. The University of Florida wrote that the measure “came at the request of Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell, is not in response to any specific heightened threat. It is a process that enables various law enforcement agencies to work together more efficiently. For example, agencies from multiple jurisdictions can be mobilized, if necessary, without bureaucratic delays.” UF also released its own video in advance of the speech.
In a statement explaining the decision to allow the Richard Spencer Speech to go ahead, UF explained, “Although UF leadership has denounced Spencer’s white supremacist rhetoric, the University, as a state entity, must allow the free expression of all viewpoints.” UF said, “Despite not being invited by the University of Florida, National Policy Institute’s President Richard Spencer is scheduled to speak on October 19 on campus.” According to the Miami Herald, “UF policy stipulates that any outside organization can rent space on campus. Spencer’s request was initially denied for what UF called safety concerns following the death of a counter-protester in Charlottesville, Virginia in September.”
University of Florida President W. Kent Fuchs said in a statement, “For the record, I don’t stand behind racist Richard Spencer. I stand with those who reject and condemn Spencer’s vile and despicable message.” Asked about the governor’s state of emergency declaration, Richard Spencer told CNN before the speech that “he was flattered by the state of emergency declaration, which he said put him on par with ‘hurricanes and invading armies and zombie apocalypses.'” According to CNN, Spencer has spoken at college campuses throughout the country, igniting protests, “including at Texas A&M in December and Alabama’s Auburn University in April. He also led a group of supporters carrying torches in May in Charlottesville in a display that critics said evoked images of the Ku Klux Klan.” The counter-protester, Heather Heyer, was killed in Charlottesville when she was struck by a car.
Audience does not welcome #RichardSpencer at #Gainesville
Protesters chanted against Spencer as the speech was about to begin. Spencer challenged the protesters, saying, “you are not speaking. You are screaming and attempting to create a mob that is trying to shut down free speech… are you adults? Are you? Are you ready to think for yourself…you all look like immature preschoolers who aren’t ready for ideas that might get a little challenging.” Another man on stage with Spencer said that students were acting like “animals” but have been “brainwashed” by “anti-white hate.”
“You are speaking truth to Richard Spencer,” Spencer told the chanting crowd. “You are not speaking truth to power.” A man was arrested with a firearm before the speech. You can read more about that arrest here:
