Instagram/Kaitlin Bennett
Kaitlin Bennett, a controversial, pro-Trump and pro-gun social media personality who often makes videos of herself provoking progressive college students, was driven off the University of Central Florida campus on Thursday, September 10, in a raucous spectacle.
According to numerous videos posted to Twitter, Bennett came to the campus without a mask and with a person described as a security guard, who appeared to tussle with several students. She was eventually followed by a group of students chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, this racist b**** has got to go,” and at one point took shelter in a bagel shop.
The university issued a statement later in the day indicating that Bennett’s group intended to “agitate and offend” students, and that she initially refused to comply with the university’s coronavirus guidelines, although she eventually put a mask on.
One video of the incident can be seen here. Be warned: Several of the tweets and videos below contain crude language.
Here’s what you need to know:
Bennett Says She Went to the UCF Campus to Record Interviews With Students, Which She Posts to Her Sites to Mock Progressives; Students Did Not Make Her Feel Welcome
Many short videos were taken by students on campus showing Bennett walking around and trying to conduct interviews with someone who appears to be a security guard by her side. Many took to Twitter to express disbelief that Bennett, with her deliberately provocative style, would come to the university, maskless, during a pandemic.
One student said, “still can’t believe Kaitlin Bennett had the audacity to come to UCF, a campus full of minority and LGBT+ students, literally a half hour away from the pulse nightclub like, how tone deaf can you be?”
still cant believe kaitlin bennett had the audacity to come to ucf, a campus full of minority and lgbt+ students, literally a half hour away from the pulse nightclub like
how tone deaf can you be, we dont want you here, youre gonna get bullied
bitch didnt even wear a mask
Students followed and crowded her, shouting, “Hey hey, ho ho, this racist b**** has got to go,” and several calling her “pee-pee poo-poo girl,” variants of which have become popular epithets for students confronting Bennett on different campuses.
this tik tok of kaitlin bennett at ucf pleaseeeeee lmao she’s a fucking joke
yell at your local conservative today 😌 FUCK kaitlin bennett
In one video, a man claims Bennett took shelter in an Einstein Bros. Bagel shop while her security guard stood in front.
Legend says Kaitlin Bennett is still in the Einstein bagels electrical room at UCF
Bennett made light of the incident on Twitter later, posing in front of the angry students, captioning it, “Just another day at the office.”
Just another day at the office
Bennett also said in a tweet that she went to the campus to ask “who would be a better president for Black Americans, Trump or Biden.”
The University Later Said Bennett Was Trying to ‘Agitate & Offend’ Students, but That It Was Still Free Speech; However, She Did Violate COVID-19 Guidelines
UCF later issued a statement indicating that Bennett’s appearance on campus was “intended to agitate and offended many members of our community.” Further, Bennett and her group violated the campus coronavirus policy and didn’t wear masks. Bennett and her group later complied, the university said.
UCF has long held that the free exchange of ideas and opinions is the bedrock of higher education — regardless of the message and whether our university’s values align with it. We recognize that a group’s presence on campus today was intended to agitate and offended many members of our community. …
The group on campus today was lawfully exercising their free expression rights, but not complying with UCF’s COVID-19 policy, which requires everyone on campus to wear a face covering.
Our policy was explained to the group and after a period of time, the group complied and wore face coverings. This is the first time during the period of COVID-19 that UCF has dealt with a free expression scenario of this nature, and the university must enforce this health and safety policy with all visitors.
Bennett took issue with the statement, calling UCF “liars” and insisting that her head of security “went to campus yesterday and walked around with Commander Freeman to tell them exactly why we were coming and be proactive in making sure this wouldn’t happen.”
My head of security went to campus yesterday and walked around with @UCFPolice Commander Freeman to tell them exactly why we were coming, & be proactive in making sure this wouldn’t happen. They also said they wouldn’t make us wear masks, then threatened to arrest US. #DefundUCF
“They also said they wouldn’t make us wear masks, then threatened to arrest us,” she said, concluding with the hashtag #DefundUCF.
Attempts to reach Bennett for comment through her Twitter and her website Liberty Hangout were unsuccessful.
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