U.C. Berkeley is adding former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon to the list of guests at its upcoming “Free Speech Week,” which will also feature Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter, both figures who sparked protests the last time they were scheduled to speak at the school.
The four-day event, which is set to begin September 24, is hosted by the conservative group the Berkeley Patriot, which told The Hill that Bannon will speak on the last day of the event.
The university has been the center of several violent protests in recent months in response to conservative speakers on campus. In February, Yiannopoulos’ scheduled appearance sparked a campus-wide lockdown after protests erupted that caused $100,000 in damages, as CNN reported. The event was canceled.
In April, the BCR invited conservative pundit Ann Coulter to speak on the Berkeley campus, but after threats of violence, dropped their support of the event. After losing the group’s support, Coulter cancelled her scheduled speech. She told The New York Times, at the time, “It’s a sad day for free speech.”
Bannon faced protests Tuesday in Hong Kong ahead of a scheduled speech, according to Reuters. Protesters shouted “No Bannon, no racism” and “Nazis are not welcome here.”
U.C. Berkeley, a campus that is widely left-leaning, has long been at the center of the free speech debate, most recently for an appearance by Ben Shapiro, editor-in-chief at The Daily Wire, which had to be rescheduled to accommodate for safety concerns.
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1998: Novelist Salman Rushdie received death threats after the publication of his book "The Satanic Verses," which was seen by some Muslims as insulting to Muhammad.
2004: Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh angered Muslims with his film "Submission," which was critical of the way women are treated in Islam. He was murdered by Dutch-Moroccan Muslim Mohammed Bouyen.
2005: The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a number of controversial cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad, leading to protests and violent demonstrations in some Muslim countries.
2011: CBS journalist Lara Logan was beaten and sexually assaulted while covering the celebrations in Egypt's Tahrir Square over the resignation of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
2014: After being threatened by Israelis in Sderot, CNN's Diana Magnay caused an uproar by calling them "scum" on Twitter. Magnay was then pulled off of her assignment near the Gaza border and reassigned to Moscow.
2013: Al Jazeera journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were arrested and later convicted in Egypt of aiding and abetting the Muslim Brotherhood, receiving prison sentences ranging from seven to 10 years. While an Egyptian court has accepted the trio's appeal, the journalists were not released on bail, meaning they'll remain imprisoned until their retrial.
2014: The theatrical release of the comedy "The Interview," which depicted an assassination plot against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was temporarily canceled after Sony suffered a massive cyberattack, in which North Korea reportedly played a part.
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From Salman Rushdie to “The Interview,” speaking one’s mind can be dangerous
