WATCH: Berkeley College Republicans Hold Press Conference Following Cancellation of Ann Coulter Event

Following the announcement that Ann Coulter will not be speaking at UC Berkeley, the Berkeley College Republicans held a press conference to discuss the event.

Troy Warden, the President of Berkeley College Republicans, was asked by reporters about Ann Coulter’s statement from earlier today pertaining to the event and whether or not Warden found Coulter’s statement in some way hypocritical, as Coulter had previously promised to speak at Berkeley whether or not she was invited. Warden gave his comment on the matter,

Well this isn’t a matter just about Ann Coulter, this is about the safety of students on campus and UCPD and the administration told us specifically that they cannot guarantee the safety of students on campus. So Ann Coulter, and I assume all the other organisations involved, including the Berkeley College Republicans do not want to endanger peoples lives.

So, again, because of the universities unwillingness to do their job, because of the unwillingness of the law enforcement’s ability to do their job, we are forced to cancel the event. This is a matter of the university and UCPD obstructing our right to free speech.

Addressing the lawsuit brought against UC Berkeley by the Berkeley College Republicans, the student group’s lawyer Harmeet Dhillon explained what the group’s current course of action would be. She stated,

The lawsuit is going forward, the lawsuit is not about Ann Coulter, Ann Coulter was simply the catalyst and the straw that broke the camels back on free speech here at UC Berkeley. We are seeking an injunction to prevent the University of California Berkeley from applying unequal rules and inequitable access to it’s facilities here, which is stated policy and that’s all laid out in our lawsuit.

So the next steps here are going to be that the two plaintiffs in this lawsuit who are united in pursuing this are going to go to the court and we’re going to go through the normal steps of a lawsuit hearing in federal court. It could last for months, it could last for over a year, I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes to further steps beyond the district court but this is a long game that we’re playing.

We are seeking to ensure that future generations of UC Berkeley students are able to enjoy equal access, whether they’re conservative, liberal or whatever their perspective is and that similarly Young America’s Foundation which seeks to promote this principle on campuses all over the country is able to apply that ruling to other campuses around the country.

Watch the full press conference below,

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