Violent, masked ‘anti-fascists’ have stormed a free speech event at a leading London university, sparking fistfights and scuffles in their attempt to silence visiting speakers.
The left-wing thugs used fire alarms, smoke bombs, and loudhailers to disrupt proceedings, shouting “no fascists on campus” and “no free speech for the Alt-Rights”.
They also reportedly smashed a window, planted “death threats”, and left security guards needing to attend a hospital for minor injuries, according to organisers.
The talk was arranged by King’s College London (KCL) Libertarian Society and featured Ayn Rand Institute director and author Dr. Yaron Brook and YouTube personality Sargon of Akkad, real name Carl Benjamin, who identifies as a “classical liberal”.
Violent protests outside the venue before the event had even begun led to the college barring all non-student ticket holders from attending.
The student moderating the talk claimed he had received “many death threats”, sharing a note allegedly left at the event reading: “The guy moderating the talk is on my course and he’ll have a difficult time once the strike is over.”
“Come out, be loud, interrupt fascist spaces and organizations, don’t let their discourse be normalised [sic]!” read a Facebook event for the protest called: “White-supremacists Neo-Fascists OFF our campus NOW.”
A group called North London Antifa later boasted on Twitter: “Tonight a group of student and anti-fascist activists successfully shut down an ‘alt-right’ talk at Kings College,” alongside a picture of Mr. Benjamin.
They added: “Here’s alt-right mouthpiece ‘Sargon of Akkad’ after he was forced to leave the building, no platform for him tonight!”
However, other attendees claimed that although the event had been cut short, Mr. Benjamin had remained in the building, and images on social media showed him triumphantly waving an Antifa flag on stage after the event.
In a statement issued after the event, KCL Libertarian Society leaders blamed university authorities for failing to prevent the violence, adding: “Windows have been smashed and gas bombs lit outside campus.
“A number of KCL security guards are on their way to hospital after being assaulted, and to them and their families we offer our prayers and wishes for a speedy recovery.”
“The event has now been cancelled [and] evacuated after threats to the moderator.
“This was an act of violence, clearly intended to silence Yaron and Sargon’s planned debate, via a series of jackbooted totalitarian tactics that unfortunately proved successful tonight.”
KCL student Konstantin Tumanov added in a comment: “The authorities of King’s, these ‘safe space’ preachers, failed to provide security for their own students and didn’t manage to stop a bunch of terrorists from breaking in our campus. On top of that, they didn’t even stop them from escaping.”
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