Women’s Event Postponed After Anti-Trump Protesters Harass Speakers

Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chair of the U.S. House Foreign Relations Committee, was forced to postpone his annual Women’s Conference at California State University Fullerton after anti-Trump protesters harassed and intimidated the speakers.

Members of the so-called “Indivisible” movement, a nationwide anti-Trump effort, said that they had not intended to do anything violent, and that they were not responsible for intimidating social media messages sent by some of their activists, the Orange County Register reports.

Still, Royce and the other participants in the conference felt that it was best to cancel, or at least postpone, the conference because of the potential for disruption and other problems.

In a statement, Royce described the reasons for canceling the CSU Fullerton event. The Register reports:

“A vocal and disruptive group of political activists has repeatedly harassed this year’s speakers in an effort to intimidate them and stop them from speaking,” Royce said in an emailed statement. “As my first priority is the safety and comfort of all involved, I have decided to postpone the 2017 conference.”

Organizers from Indivisible seemed somewhat embarrassed to have caused the cancellation of an event devoted to women’s issues. One told the Register that she would be willing to apologize if they felt intimidated.

Royce has been broadly supportive of President Donald Trump, though also critical on occasion. Recently, Royce voiced his concerns about proposed budget cuts to the State Department.

“I am very concerned by reports of deep cuts that could damage efforts to combat terrorism, save lives, and create opportunities for American workers,” he said earlier this month. “The committee will thoroughly review the administration’s foreign affairs budget request when it’s made available to Congress.”

Last month, a CSU Fullerton professor allegedly assaulted a pro-Trump student during a protest.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

Photo: file