UC Berkeley says 'Free Speech Week' events with Yiannopoulos, Bannon in doubt

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ says the university is committed to protecting free speech. | Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo

BERKELEY, Calif. — More than a month after a conservative student organization announced it would sponsor campus talks by a trio of controversial speakers on the right — including Steve Bannon, Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter — University of California Berkeley representatives insist the group has repeatedly failed to comply with requests to facilitate the late September “Free Speech Week” events.

UC Berkeley assistant vice chancellor for communications Dan Mogulof told POLITICO Tuesday that the student organization Berkeley Patriot — whose membership is estimated by Mogulof at between 5-10 members — “still has not completed the critical steps” necessary to arrange venues for the events it announced with fanfare last month.

The conservative students group had said it planned speeches from Sept. 24-27 at Sproul Plaza, Zellerbach Hall and other major locations on campus, but it has failed to provide requested information needed to provide security for the events, “nor has it confirmed the list of speakers and when they intend to schedule events with those speakers,’’ Mogulof said.

Political leaders, including Berkeley Mayor Jesse Areguin, have asked UC Berkeley to cancel the events, expressing concern about the potential for violence and confrontations from protesters drawn by the presence of Yiannopoulos, an author and political provocateur, as well as former Trump senior adviser Bannon and best-selling author Coulter. A February event with Yiannopoulos, which was called off, drew crowds of violent protesters on both sides.

Yiannopoulos, in an email response to questions from POLITICO, insisted that the events are still scheduled. “Ann, Steve and I will be speaking on the final night, Sept 27, in Zellerbach Hall on campus. [Breitbart News editor in chief] Alex Marlow will also appear on stage the same night,’’ he wrote. Yiannopolous said he had no comment on the questions raised by the UC Berkeley spokesman.

A representative of Berkeley Patriot, Bryce Kasamoto, responding to a request for comment, told POLITICO via text message that "we are working diligently to answer any requests that the university might have...we will work to get all of this clarified in a good faith and collaborative manner.

"I can confirm that Milo Yiannopolous and Steve Bannon will be speaking at our Free Speech Week, though he provided no other details as to time or place. "We are still working with the university and law enforcement to finalize those specifics, he said.

In a statement released today, Mogulof said that as part of the events, “Milo Yiannopoulos and Stephen Bannon have said publicly that they will be speaking on our campus during that time, along with “more than 20 additional speakers,” as per Mr. Yiannopoulos’s statement.”

But he noted neither side has addressed issues that include security matters or apparent conflicts between the schedules provided by Yiannopoulos and the student group. He said, “we have repeatedly asked representatives of the Berkeley Patriot to confirm that contracts have been completed between the student organization and each of these speakers; to date they have not.”

Conservative writer Ben Shapiro is scheduled to speak on campus this Thursday at Zellerbach Hall in the heart of the campus, and that event sponsored by the Young America s Foundation is expected to have police and security presence, organizers said.