UC Berkeley cancels right-wing provocateur’s talk amid violent protest

A protest at UC Berkeley over a scheduled appearance by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos turned fiery and violent Wednesday night, prompting police to cancel the event and hustle the Breitbart News editor off campus.

But even after the event’s cancellation, hundreds of protesters spilled off campus into the city streets, where the violence continued as they confronted drivers, engaged in fights, smashed storefront windows and set fires.

Protesters decried President Trump’s policies as much as they did the visit by Yiannopoulos, a gay conservative who has been making the rounds at college campuses across the country with his “Dangerous Faggot” talks, specializing in remarks meant to insult, offend and disgust liberals who disagree with his ideas.

The trouble began around 6 p.m., two hours before Yiannopoulos was to begin his speech inside the student union building on Sproul Plaza. Protesters outside the building began throwing fireworks and pulling down the metal barricades police set up to keep protesters from rushing inside. Windows were smashed and fires were set outside the building as masked protesters stormed it. Police quickly evacuated Yiannopoulos for his own safety.

Berkeley police said five people were injured and some people, including a man who said he had hoped to see Yiannopoulos speak, were seen with their faces bloodied. There were no arrests.

Police said protesters threw bricks and fireworks at police officers. University police locked down all buildings and told people inside them to shelter in place, and later fired pepper balls and paint balls into the crowd of protesters who defied orders to leave the area. Police called in support from nine of the 10 UC campuses and the Oakland Police Department and Alameda County sheriffs department.

A portable light unit burns after demonstrations forced the cancellation of a talk by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos in Berkeley, Calif., on Wednesday, February 1, 2017. A portable light unit burns after demonstrations forced the cancellation of a talk by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos in Berkeley, Calif., on Wednesday, February 1, 2017. Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close UC Berkeley cancels right-wing provocateur’s talk amid violent protest 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

“This is what tolerance looks like at UC Berkeley,” Mike Wright of Berkeley College Republicans, the group that invited Yiannopoulos to the campus, said outside the student union building as smoke bombs went off around him.

As he spoke, someone threw a glass bottle of red paint at him. The bottle shattered and splattered paint on his clothing. “It’s sad,” he said.

On Berkeley’s city streets, protesters took their rage against construction sites and businesses, smashing windows at banks and stores. They also confronted motorists, and at one point a driver sped off with a protester on the car hood.

University officials had earlier rejected requests to cancel Yiannopoulos’ appearance. In a letter to the campus community last week, Chancellor Nicholas Dirks said, “The U.S. Constitution prohibits UC Berkeley, as a public institution, from banning expression based on its content or viewpoints, even when those viewpoints are hateful or discriminatory.”

Protesters argued that what Yiannopoulos specializes in is hate speech, and that it didn’t deserve to be protected.

“It’s not a question of free speech,” a protester said via megaphone, riling up the hundreds of protesters. “It’s about real human beings.”

Yiannopoulos’ appearances at some universities have resulted in violent confrontations between protesters and his supporters. Some private universities have barred him, and Twitter banned him in July for repeatedly breaking harassment and abuse policies.

Berkeley College Republicans said all 500 tickets had been sold for Yiannopoulos’ scheduled appearance in Pauley Ballroom in the student union building. Yiannopoulos was expected to use the event to kick off a campaign against “sanctuary campuses” that have vowed to protect students in the country illegally as President Trump cracks down on illegal immigration.

Campus police had been hoping to avoid a repeat of the chaos at UC Davis on Jan. 13, when protesters overwhelmed their barricades and shut down Yiannopoulos’ speech.

In an interview with Fox News after Wednesday’s cancellation, the 32-year-old Yiannopoulos — a self-described “libertarian, gay, Trump-supporting provocateur” — said college campuses are places where “you should be able to engage with different ideas.”

Those who attend his appearances, he said, include people who “don’t necessarily agree with me but just want to hear the other side. They were prevented from doing so this evening by violence from the left — the left that is terrified of anyone who they think might be persuasive or might be interesting or might take people with them.”

But UC Berkeley sophomore Jonathan Gow, 19, rejected Yiannopoulos’ insistence that free speech took a hit.

“The whole reason we’re here is for free speech,” Gow said. “Milo’s hate speech is not allowed here. When it’s hate speech, our free speech is to shut him down.”

Three lines of zip-tied metal fencing separated the crowd of protesters from campus police officers who had secured the building where Yiannopoulos was supposed to speak. He had arrived earlier, escorted by security, and had been waiting inside the student union building when the protests erupted.

The protest turned violent around 6 p.m. when dozens of masked anarchists, dressed in black and wearing backpacks, emerged from the otherwise peaceful crowd.

As “Milo has got to go” chants broke out, they struck: in small groups, at first — knocking down the fences, cutting through the zip ties. Then they came in droves, as the dozens of university police officers in riot gear quickly retreated to an inner ring of fencing.

Seizing the opportunity, the masked protesters ran toward the student center and breached the inner ring, picking up pieces of fencing and hurling them into the building’s windows. Glass shattered, but no one went inside, where Yiannopoulos was waiting for the event to begin.

As some protesters yelled obscenities at police, others toppled a generator and light pole police had set up, spray-painting “Milo” with an X through it. Then they lit it on fire. From their backpacks, the protesters hurled dozens of fireworks.

One of the black-dressed anarchists said he had been hit by nonlethal ammunition.

“The cops shot me with pepper balls,” said the 26-year-old man, who called himself Zombie. “It hurt.”

Carrying a thick black shield and wearing a milk-soaked kerchief over his face to protect against potential tear gas, Zombie said, “We’re anarchists.” Fellow protesters unfurled a banner reading, “This is war.”

Police soon declared an unlawful assembly and ordered everyone to leave, but hundreds of protesters stayed, filling the entire upper and lower plaza. “Turn on the dance music,” one masked woman yelled.

UC Berkeley junior Fatima Ibrahim, 20, who clutched a “resist fear” sign with a red fist, said the timing of Yiannopoulos’ scheduled appearance stung.

“As a black Muslim woman, all three of those identities have been targeted throughout (Trump’s) campaign,” Ibrahim said. “To have someone like (Yiannopoulos) come into my campus and affirm those people’s beliefs, it’s very, very hurtful.”

Hours after the event was canceled, the College Republicans issued a statement declaring the Free Speech Movement dead. “It is tragic that the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement is also its final resting place,” the statement said.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Sarah Ravani contributed to this report.

Michael Bodley and Nanette Asimov are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com and nasimov@sfchronicle.com</s>Less than two hours before right-wing lightning-rod Milo Yiannopoulos was prepared to bring his controversial act to UC Berkeley on Wednesday amid heightened security and calls by detractors to shut down his speech, campus officials canceled the event shortly after demonstrations turned violent.</s>BERKELEY, CA - Protesters hurled smoke bombs, broke windows and started a bonfire prompting University of California at Berkeley officials to cancel a talk Wednesday by a polarizing editor of Breitbart News out of safety concerns.

The decision was made two hours before the appearance of Milo Yiannopoulos (yuh-NAH'-poh-lihs) because a crowd of more than 1,500 had gathered outside the venue, the university said in a statement.

"Of paramount importance this evening was the campus's commitment to ensure the safety and security of those attending the event, the speaker, those who came to engage in lawful protest, as well as members of the public and the Berkeley campus community," it said.

UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulos said there are no immediate reports of arrests or serious injuries.

The 32-year-old right-wing provocateur is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and a self-proclaimed internet troll whose comments have been criticized as racist, misogynist, anti-Muslim and white supremacist. He was banned from Twitter after leading a harassment campaign against "Ghostbusters" actress Leslie Jones.

Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators carrying signs that read "Hate Speech Is Not Free Speech" had been protesting for hours before the event. A smaller group of protesters dressed in black and in hooded sweatshirts showed up as night fell and used metal barricades to break windows, threw smoke bombs and flares and used a diesel generator to start a large bonfire outside the building.

Yiannopoulos' visit to Berkeley was sponsored by the campus Republican club. The university has stressed it did not invite him and does not endorse his ideas but is committed to free speech and rejected calls to cancel the event.

"The event has been canceled," Yiannopoulos posted on his Facebook page. "I'll let you know more when the facts become clear. One thing we do know for sure: the Left is absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it down."

The Berkeley College Republicans said its "constitutional right to free speech was silenced by criminals and thugs."

"Their success is a defeat for civilized society and the free exchange of ideas on college campuses across America," it said in a statement.

Yiannopoulos' talks have sparked protests, shouting matches and occasional violence at stops around the country. A man was shot and wounded at protests outside his Jan. 21 talk at the University of Washington.

Rowdy protests at UC Davis Jan. 13 prompted campus Republicans to cancel his appearance at the last minute. His final stop was supposed to be UCLA on Thursday but the invitation was rescinded, making Berkeley his grand finale.</s>An event scheduled by the campus Republican club at UC Berkeley featuring Milo Yiannopoulous, the glossy, terrifying poster boy for the far-right was cancelled Wednesday after 1,500 student protesters started fires, broke windows and refused to disperse.



ABC News reports that the decision to cancel the event happened two hours prior to its scheduled start time. Peaceful demonstrators had reportedly gathered hours before the event was set to start, but were later joined by a smaller group whose methods were a little more forceful; they “used metal barricades to break windows, threw smoke bombs and flares and set a large bonfire outside the building.”

Fearing for the safety of the attendees and the protestors, the university pulled the plug on the event and have been trying their damnedest to disperse the protestors, who will not back down. Yiannopoulos’s scheduled appearance at Berkeley was part of his college tour and he’s been met with a similarly chilly reception at other universities as well. Protesters at UC Davis shut down a planned event earlier this month featuring Yiannopolous and known cretin Martin Shkreli, who reportedly got dog poop flung in his face while on campus.

The university stressed that his planned visit to the campus was in no way meant to serve as an endorsement of the hate speech he is so fond of spewing., citing their commitment to free speech. Pieter Sittler, a spokesperson for the Berkeley Campus Republicans clarified that “he gives a voice to repressed conservative thought on American college campuses” and uses “levity and humor” to get his point across. Sittler also suggested that one should not take everything Yiannopoulos says literally, but even if you take that into consideration, that still doesn’t make a whit of what comes out of his mouth okay.

Yiannopolos is a noxious troll with a pretty big book deal who is also responsible for last summer’s online hate campaign that targeted actress Leslie Jones. In a statement on Facebook, he said “One thing we do know for sure: the Left is absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it down.”



As of 8 P.M. PT, it appears that the protesters have moved off campus and taken to the streets.

The official statement from the university makes it clear that the violence and general chaos demonstrated tonight is not quite what they had in mind:

Yiannopolous was also scheduled to appear at UCLA, but his invitation was rescinded, making Berkeley his last stop. Sad!</s>A frightening protest broke out at the University of California, Berkeley on Feb. 1 in response to a speech that ‘Breitbart News’ editor Milo Yiannopoulos was set to give that night. Get the details on the demonstration opposing the alt-right speaker.

Students at the University of California, Berkeley proved they really, really don’t like Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos, 32, when a violent protest against a speech he was set to give broke out on Feb. 1. Things got so bad at the protest, which saw demonstrators tearing down barricades and setting off fireworks, that police reportedly shot non-lethal bullets at the students who were protesting on the campus.

The speech was cancelled, the campus put on lockdown, and Milo was evacuated. “Milo event cancelled. Shelter in place if on campus. All campus buildings on lockdown. #miloatcal,” the campus police tweeted.

“I have been evacuated from the UC Berkeley campus after violent left-wing protestors tore down barricades, lit fires, threw rocks and Roman candles at the windows and breached the ground floor of the building,” the openly gay, alt-right editor wrote in a post on Facebook. “My team and I are safe. But the event has been cancelled. I’ll let you know more when the facts become clear. One thing we do know for sure: the Left is absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it down.”

It’s no secret that Milo is a huge fan of President Donald Trump, 70, and has been accused of being a racist, misogynist, anti-Muslim, white supremacist. Milo also calls himself an internet troll, and was banned from Twitter for harassing Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones in 2016. His speeches have been protested at colleges all across the country.

HollywoodLifers, what do you think of the UC Berkeley protest of Milo’s speech? Give us all your thoughts below.</s>Milo Yiannopoulos, an editor at the conservative website Breitbart News, was forced to cancel a speaking engagement at the University of California, Berkeley after protests turned violent on Wednesday.

The planned appearance was canceled two hours before the event was set to begin, after a crowd of more than 1,500 gathered outside the venue, according to a statement released by the university.

According to the statement, Yiannopoulos left the campus shortly after being escorted away from the event.

“Of paramount importance this evening was the campus’s commitment to ensure the safety and security of those attending the event, the speaker, those who came to engage in lawful protest, as well as members of the public and the Berkeley campus community,” the statement read.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the violence and unlawful behavior that was on display and deeply regret that those tactics will now overshadow the efforts to engage in legitimate and lawful protest against the performer’s presence and perspectives,” it continued.

The event was planned by the Berkeley College Republicans and not by the university. Yiannopoulos, 32, called into Fox News, saying, “I think tonight is… a horrible spectacle and very humiliating for American higher education.”

Yiannopoulos responded to the protests on his Facebook page, writing that he had been evacuated after “violent left-wing protesters tore down barricades, lit fire, threw rocks and Roman candles at the windows and breached the ground floor of the building.”

Protesters could be seen throwing fireworks at police and at the student union center on campus, according to CNN. It was also reported that protestors were seen tearing down metal barriers, smashing windows of the student center and setting a fire outside of the building.

This is not the first time an appearance of Yiannopoulos was protested by university students. A protest at the University of Washington left a 25-year-old man shot in the stomach on Inauguration Day.

Protests also occurred last month at the University of California, Davis, where Yiannopoulos was set to speak. That event was also cancelled.

Yiannopoulos has called himself a Donald Trump supporter and has been named an “Internet troll” for comments that have been criticized as racist, misogynist, anti-Muslim and white supremacist. He was banned from Twitter after allegedly inciting racist harassment against actress and comedian Leslie Jones, 49, this past summer.</s>BERKELEY, Calif.– Violence erupted Wednesday night at UC Berkeley — the same campus where the Free Speech Movement began — to protest a scheduled talk by right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos.

The university blamed “150 masked agitators” for the unrest, saying they had come to campus to disturb an otherwise peaceful protest.

Administrators decided to cancel the event about two hours before the Breitbart editor’s speech. UC Berkeley said it removed him from campus “amid the violence and destruction of property and out of concern for public safety.”

Black-clad protesters wearing masks threw commercial-grade fireworks and rocks at police. Some even hurled Molotov cocktails that ignited fires. They also smashed windows of the student union center on the Berkeley campus where the Yiannopoulos event was to be held.

At least six people were injured. Some were attacked by the agitators — who are a part of an anarchist group known as the “Black Bloc” that has been causing problems in Oakland for years, said Dan Mogulof, UC Berkeley spokesman.

More than 1,500 protesters had gathered at Sproul Plaza, chanting and holding signs that read: “No safe space for racists” and “This is war.”

The violent protesters tore down metal barriers, set fires near the campus bookstore and damaged the construction site of a new dorm. One woman wearing a red Trump hat was pepper sprayed in the face while being interviewed by CNN affiliate KGO. She was able to respond that she was OK after the attack.

As the scene spiraled out of control, university police warned protesters to disperse and issued a lockdown for campus buildings.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the violence and unlawful behavior that was on display and deeply regret that those tactics will now overshadow the efforts to engage in legitimate and lawful protest against the performer’s presence and perspectives,” UC Berkeley said in a statement.

“While Yiannopoulos’ views, tactics and rhetoric are profoundly contrary to our own, we are bound by the Constitution, the law, our values and the campus’s Principles of Community to enable free expression across the full spectrum of opinion and perspective,” it stated.

As police dispersed the crowd from campus, a remaining group of protesters moved into downtown Berkeley and smashed windows at several local banks.

No arrests were made throughout the night.

Yiannopoulos had been invited to speak by the Berkeley College Republicans. He has been on a college speaking tour and had planned to speak about cultural appropriation on Wednesday.

In a Facebook Live video, Yiannopoulos described what happened as “an expression of political violence.”

“I’m just stunned that hundreds of people … were so threatened by the idea that a conservative speaker might be persuasive, interesting, funny and might take some people with him, they have to shut it down at all costs.”

President Donald Trump weighed in on Twitter, suggesting the possibility of cutting federal funds to the public university.

“If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view — NO FEDERAL FUNDS?” Trump tweeted Thursday morning.

But some protesters said the Yiannopoulos event wasn’t a matter of free speech, because he espouses hate speech.

UC Berkeley said it had prepared security measures following what had happened at Yiannopoulos’ previous events. One of his planned speaking engagements at UC Davis was also canceled last month in response to protests.

“Ultimately, and unfortunately, however, it was impossible to maintain order given the level of threat, disruption and organized violence,” UC Berkeley said in a statement.

Most UC Berkeley students who spoke with CNN said they were relieved that Yiannopoulos wasn’t able to speak, but this was not how they wanted to accomplish that goal.

One student told CNN that he didn’t agree with what happened.

“It’s a sad irony in the fact that the Free Speech Movement was founded here and tonight, someone’s free speech got shut down. It might have been hateful speech, but it’s still his right to speak,” said Shivam Patel, a freshmen who stood outside of Sproul Plaza.

The Free Speech Movement started at UC Berkeley in 1964 after students protested en masse when administrators tried to restrict their political activities on campus.

Patel said he supported peaceful protests, but disagreed with the way things turned out on Wednesday.

“It allows people on the right to say, ‘Look at all these liberal Berkeley snowflakes. They’re intolerant of speech.’ I don’t think it’s productive at all. It does nothing to help this country.”</s>BERKELEY, Calif. -- Violence erupted Wednesday night at UC Berkeley -- the same campus where the Free Speech Movement began -- to protest a scheduled talk by right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos.

The university blamed "150 masked agitators" for the unrest, saying they had come to campus to disturb an otherwise peaceful protest.

Administrators decided to cancel the event about two hours before the Breitbart editor's speech. UC Berkeley said it removed him from campus "amid the violence and destruction of property and out of concern for public safety."

Black-clad protesters wearing masks threw commercial-grade fireworks and rocks at police. Some even hurled Molotov cocktails that ignited fires.

They also smashed windows of the student union center on the Berkeley campus where the Yiannopoulos event was to be held.

At least six people were injured. Some were attacked by the agitators -- who are a part of an anarchist group known as the "Black Bloc" that has been causing problems in Oakland for years, said Dan Mogulof, UC Berkeley spokesman.

More than 1,500 protesters had gathered at Sproul Plaza, chanting and holding signs that read: "No safe space for racists" and "This is war."

The violent protesters tore down metal barriers, set fires near the campus bookstore and damaged the construction site of a new dorm.

One woman wearing a red Donald Trump hat was pepper sprayed in the face while being interviewed by KGO. She was able to respond that she was OK after the attack.

As the scene spiraled out of control, university police warned protesters to disperse and issued a lockdown for campus buildings.

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the violence and unlawful behavior that was on display and deeply regret that those tactics will now overshadow the efforts to engage in legitimate and lawful protest against the performer's presence and perspectives," UC Berkeley said in a statement.

"While Yiannopoulos' views, tactics and rhetoric are profoundly contrary to our own, we are bound by the Constitution, the law, our values and the campus's Principles of Community to enable free expression across the full spectrum of opinion and perspective," it said.

As police dispersed the crowd from campus, a remaining group of protesters moved into downtown Berkeley and smashed windows at several local banks.

No arrests were made throughout the night.

Yiannopoulos had been invited to speak by the Berkeley College Republicans. He has been on a college speaking tour and had planned to speak about cultural appropriation on Wednesday.

In a Facebook Live video, Yiannopoulos described what happened as "an expression of political violence."

"I'm just stunned that hundreds of people ... were so threatened by the idea that a conservative speaker might be persuasive, interesting, funny and might take some people with him, they have to shut it down at all costs."

President Donald Trump weighed in on Twitter, suggesting the possibility of cutting federal funds to the public university.

But some protesters said the Yiannopoulos event wasn't a matter of free speech because he espouses hate speech.

UC Berkeley said it had prepared security measures following what had happened at Yiannopoulos' previous events. One of his planned speaking engagements at UC Davis was also canceled last month in response to protests.

"Ultimately, and unfortunately, however, it was impossible to maintain order given the level of threat, disruption and organized violence," UC Berkeley said in a statement.</s>Hundreds of protesters at the University of California at Berkeley on Wednesday smashed windows, set fires and clashed with police as they forced a right-wing speaker to cancel his appearance at the liberal-leaning institution.

Two hours before far-right Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos was to give a speech at the student union, protesters tossed metal barricades and rocks through the building’s windows and set a light generator on fire near the entrance, footage from news outlets showed.

Police ordered protesters to disperse as the school put the campus on lockdown. Protesters also tossed bricks and fireworks at police in riot gear who fired rubber pellets back at the crowd, according to SFGate.com, a news outlet in San Francisco.

“We shut down the event. It was great. Mission accomplished,” a protester told CNN.

Some 150 “masked agitators” were responsible for the violence during the otherwise largely peaceful protest of about 1,500 people, the university said in a statement, noting that the school “is proud of its history and legacy as home of the Free Speech Movement” in the 1960s.

President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, previously headed Breitbart News and CNN reported that many of the protesters voiced opposition to the Republican president.

Many of Trump’s executive orders and proposed policies, including his suspension of the U.S. refugee program and temporary ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, have been met by largely peaceful protests that have drawn tens of thousands of people across the United States.

One protester at Berkeley held a sign that said “No Safe Space for Racists” while other protesters danced to hip hop music, footage from a Facebook Live feed showed.

Protesters later marched along streets near the campus where some smashed storefront windows and car windshields while clashing with police, the feed showed.

Yiannopoulos, whose account on Twitter was suspended last year after he was accused of participating in the online harassment of an African-American actress, criticized “the Left”, saying in a statement it was “absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it down.”

He also said on Fox News that he was evacuated by police after protesters began throwing rocks and other objects at the building.

“Obviously it’s a liberal campus so they hate any libertarians or conservatives who dare to express an opinion on their campuses,” he said. “They particularly don’t like me.”</s>A scheduled speech by controversial Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos at the University of California, Berkeley led to violent protests that caused the event to be called off, the university said.

The university said fires were set, including one caused by a firebomb that ignited a generator-powered spotlight, and commercial-grade fireworks were thrown at police. NBC Bay Area showed a group of people grab a metal barricade and smash it against a door.

“The violence was instigated by a group of about 150 masked agitators who came onto campus and interrupted an otherwise non-violent protest,” UC Berkeley said in a statement.

Some people were attacked and police treated six people, the university said. Yiannopoulos said on Facebook that he was evacuated and blamed “violent left-wing protesters.”

The university said the event was called off at around 6 p.m. local time “amid violence, destruction of property and out of concern for public safety,” and estimated 1,500 people were outside the venue.

It wasn’t immediately clear if police made arrests. The performance was scheduled for 8 p.m.

UC Berkeley police said multiple dispersal orders were given for the protest and people were told to leave campus or avoid the area. A witness said a large crowd at Sproul Plaza yelled “No Trump, no Milo” and police used a megaphone to announce it was called off.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the violence and unlawful behavior that was on display and deeply regret that those tactics will now overshadow the efforts to engage in legitimate and lawful protest against the performer’s presence and perspectives,” UC Berkeley said in a statement.

Yiannopoulos’ critics say he has a history of making offensive comments related to race and religion. He made headlines earlier this year after he was banned from Twitter following online harassment of “Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones.

Berkeley announced on Twitter at around 6:20 p.m. local time (9:30 p.m. ET) that the event was canceled.

“The Left is absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it down,” Yiannopoulos said on Facebook after the Berkeley event was canceled.

It’s the second time a planned event featuring Yiannopoulos was canceled due to protests. A Republican college group called off an event at UC Davis on Jan. 14 amid protests.

Berkeley protest organizer Ronald Cruz earlier told NBC Bay Area that demonstrations would be held to oppose what he characterized as hateful rhetoric.

“He’s a neo-fascist who has notoriously fostered a lynch mob mentality in his audiences,” Cruz told the station.

Protesters watch a bonfire on Sproul Plaza during a rally against the scheduled speaking appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos on the University of California at Berkeley campus on Feb. 1, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif. Ben Margot / AP

UC Berkeley said in a statement after the event was canceled that extra officers were deployed and “Multiple methods of crowd control were in place.”

“Ultimately, and unfortunately, however, it was simply impossible to maintain order given the level of threat, disruption and violence,” the college said.

Berkeley College Republicans said before the protests that a “groupthink phenomenon” has taken hold at the California university that silences conservative speech, and while it doesn’t agree with everything Yiannopoulos has said or done “we saw the chance to host Milo as an opportunity that was too good to pass up.”

A bystander who said he was attacked by protesters looks for cover after a protest at UC Berkeley, after a scheduled speech by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos was canceled, in Berkeley, California, on Feb. 1, 2017. NOAH BERGER / EPA

“He is somebody who stands up for those who are too afraid or intimidated to speak out on campus, and he voraciously defends speech from all sides of the political spectrum,” the group said in a statement earlier.

University officials had rejected prior calls to cancel the event, citing free speech.

“We regret that the threats and unlawful actions of a few have interfered with the exercise of First Amendment rights on a campus that is proud of its history and legacy as home of the Free Speech Movement,” the university said.

Hundreds of peaceful protesters demonstrated for hours before the event, some with signs that read “Hate Speech Is Not Free Speech,” The Associated Press reported.

Protestors against a scheduled speaking appearance by polarizing Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos fill Sproul Plaza on the University of California at Berkeley campus on Feb. 1, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif. Ben Margot / AP
Police cancel a scheduled appearance of right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos on UC Berkeley due to hundreds of violent protesters on campus.