ACLU, Speakers Distance Themselves From UC Berkeley’s Free Speech Week

The American Civil Liberties Union, the agency that’s supposed to defend the constitutional rights of all Americans — all Americans, even the conservative ones — is noticeably absent from the whole Berkeley speech fiasco that’s been making national media headlines in recent weeks.

Except now, when the group saw fit to weigh in and label some upcoming speakers as filled with hate and intolerance.

That’s odd: Wasn’t the First Amendment aimed at protecting speech seen as controversial?

You’d think the ACLU, comprised of legal minds, would know that.

NBC News has more:

With less than a week to go before kickoff, uncertainty is still looming over UC Berkeley’s student-planned Free Speech Week.

A rash of alleged speakers released statements this week denying involvement in the four-day conservative extravaganza, organized by right-wing student group Berkeley Patriot.

Perhaps the strongest rebuttal came Tuesday, courtesy of the Northern California chapter of the ACLU, which was rumored to be helping the student group wage a legal battle against the university.

“Make no mistake — the views expressed by Steve Bannon, Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos are about bigotry and racism,” the regional branch of the ACLU said in a statement. “While the Constitution protects the expression of those views, let’s be clear that this event is about spreading hate and intolerance, not free speech.”

The rumors started last week after a spokesperson for Berkeley Patriot suggested in an interview with KQED that the ACLU was “ready to go to court” to defend the group.

https://twitter.com/GillianNBC/status/910583914430791681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcbayarea.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2FACLU-Invited-Speakers-Distance-Themselves-From-UC-Berkeleys-Free-Speech-Week-446129363.html

Pranav Jandhyala, the student representative who initially made the remark, told NBC Bay Area that it was a “misunderstanding.” He said he was told the ACLU would be helping out by Yiannopoulos, and that he hadn’t heard it first hand.

A lineup of speakers sent to news organizations last week included former White House chief strategist Bannon, commentator Coulter and former Breitbart editor Yiannopoulos, with only Yiannopoulos confirmed. Another list included Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, and InfoWars radio show host Mike Cernovich.

https://twitter.com/GillianNBC/status/910579749549834241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcbayarea.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2FACLU-Invited-Speakers-Distance-Themselves-From-UC-Berkeleys-Free-Speech-Week-446129363.html

Several lists are currently circulating, many containing contradictory information. One released on Wednesday from UC Berkeley’s press office confirms only a handful of speakers and refers to others only as “unconfirmed speaker.”

The events are supposed to take place from Sept. 24 to Sept. 27, with each day revolving around a theme. For example, “Feminism Awareness Day” on Sunday is supposed to feature Yiannopoulos, who once equated the women’s rights movement with “cancer.”

Berkeley Patriot missed a Friday deadline to sign a contract and submit a $60,000 payment to UC Berkeley so the events will now take place outdoors, if at all.

“We’d like to continue working together and cooperating,” said Berkeley Patriot member, Mike Wright, who said the group wants to help “the university demonstrate they are the home of free speech.”

Members of the student group, however, also failed to confirm their invitee list, apparently blind-sighting people who appeared on it.

Dan Mogulof, a spokesperson for UC Berkeley, said he has fielded calls from speakers who say they had no idea how they were put on the roster.

Following the loss of venue, it appears Coulter and Bannon — media heavyweights who arguably attracted the most attention — have also backed out, according to reports. A list sent out by UC Berkeley’s press office lists them as “unconfirmed.”

Other speakers who have denied involvement include author Michael Malice, former Google employee James Damore, author Heather MacDonald, and libertarian speaker Charles Murray. The list is growing murkier by the day, as additional speakers email news outlets and the school to say they will not be there.

Jandhyala told NBC Bay Area that the group never reached out to all of the speakers directly, crediting Yiannopoulos’ team with creating the widely-circulated roster. The spokesperson said the project was a “big undertaking” that has become replete with “logistical falsities.”

“Milo had been communicating with those specific speakers and I’m not sure what happened there,” the student said. “We ourselves should have made sure to have been in constant contact with all the potential speakers to avoid this.”

He continued: “I also know that some speakers started to get nervous about violence because of the venue issue and started dropping out.”
The Berkeley Patriot has accused UC Berkeley of engaging in “de facto viewpoint discrimination” by allegedly stymying the viewpoints of conservatives on campus.

The group’s lawyer Marguerite Melo said, “As we get close (to Free Speech Week), it’s clear the university is putting more and more requirements” on the event. UC Berkeley officials are getting in the way of Berkeley Patriot members and “doing everything they can to suppress their ability to exercise their rights,” she said.

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CatherineMRobinson

6 years ago

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Suresh

6 years ago

I’d warned few days back that without security this will turn out into another charlottesville fiasco and Left/liberal media and even ACLU has already started to smear the group as “racist”, “bigot” just as they did to the “nationalist” group at charlottesville.

And Milo is not someone any responsible free speech advocate should associate themselves with because he uses his speech often to abuse using generalised statements with “fk” , “cuck” thrown in and if you associate with him you’ll be tagged as endorsing all his views. Not good for conservatives. Great for Left/Liberal jihadi smear campaigns.

stick to factual , civilised criticism of ideas that you oppose and not play into hands of the Left/liberal/jihadi smear machine.

Now even the Left/liberal Loon in CANADA seems to agree that TRUMP was Right http://bit.ly/2wy0R3s

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balafama

6 years ago

Reply to  Suresh

i’m conservative but the nationalist group in charlottesville is indeed racist . they need no smears.

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Suresh

6 years ago

Reply to  balafama

LOL ! what evidence do you have to make your claim ? CNN reports?

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Benjamin Goldstein

6 years ago

I hope it will go well. Don’t back out! Margarete Thatcher always insisted that she would make sure that aggression does not pay. It must not pay. If Berkeley stops Milo/Coulter again, Liberals will feel emboldened to use an unseen level of violence on a regular basis.

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Mahou Shoujo

6 years ago

Asinine liberal coleoptera urine or, a l c u as it is jokingly called is another association of attention seeking do gooders who’s “best before” date expire decades ago.

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Sunshine Kid

6 years ago

Afraid of Civil Lawsuits Ultimately is the real meaning of ACLU.

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Jackie

6 years ago

I will always look Coulter and Bannon with a bit of side eye now. Canceling or not confirming so late is rude. But overies of steel Pamela Geller was there! Actions 🙂

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