After Antifa's chaos, Ben Shapiro issues challenge to Berkeley ahead of lecture

Source: Washington Examiner | August 28, 2017 | Emily Jashinsky

After Antifa’s weekend chaos, Ben Shapiro issues stern challenge to Berkeley ahead of upcoming lecture

Self-styled anti-fascist rioters brought their violence back to Berkeley this weekend, attacking peaceful demonstrators attending a “Rally Against Hate” with sticks and smoke bombs. On Monday, conservative author Ben Shapiro, who’s slated to address students in a lecture at the University of California, Berkeley on Sept. 14, issued a stern warning to anyone who may be spoiling for a fight over his appearance.

In a nine-post thread on Twitter, Shapiro challenged Berkeley to prove its stated commitment to “free speech” by directing the university police force to “do their jobs and stop violence.” The Berkeley campus police have faced sharp criticism for following “stand-down” orders that prevent officers from intervening in violent protests so long as there is no threat of imminent death, allowing riots to break out without intercession from law enforcement.

Young America’s Foundation, the conservative nonprofit that sponsors Shapiro’s campus lectures, is suing Berkeley for First and Fourteenth Amendment violations over its decision to cancel Ann Coulter’s lecture on campus last spring. The school’s absurd stand-down order is noted in that lawsuit.

Here are seven parts of Shapiro’s thread, edited without numbers marking each post for Twitter users:

1. Berkeley has agreed to host us. They say they support free speech.
2. They required us to pay a $15K security fee.
3. That means the police should damn well do their jobs and stop violence. No excuses.
4. ATTENDEES, DO NOT SHOW UP FOR VIOLENCE.
5. If the police refuse to do their jobs, or are told not to be administration or government figures, Congress should act.
6. Those who engage in political violence break the covenant of civilized society. The police must enforce that covenant.
7. The alt-right is repulsive. Antifa is repulsive. We should all stand together against political violence. Join us, Berkeley.

After linking to the lecture’s official website, Shapiro concluded, “I hope to see everyone there for a civilized discussions about issues. If you’re there for violence, stay home or be arrested.”

The $15,000 security fee, along with Shapiro’s honorarium and private security costs for the event, are being paid by YAF. Universities love slapping conservative student groups with onerous “security fees” for lectures to pressure them out of hosting the event and disincentivize them from hiring speakers in the future. It’s an old tactic that essentially amounts to a tax on conservative speech.

Shapiro’s call for Congress to act in the instance that Berkeley police, having pocketed $15,000 from a nonprofit student group, fail to actually secure students is also notable. The bestselling author testified himself before Congress last month, detailing his experiences with violence and censorship on the campus lecture circuit in recent years.

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