New York Times | Nafta, Ann Coulter, NFL Draft: Your Thursday Briefing New York Times A red-tailed hawk that was rescued recently after being injured by a methane flame in Lyndhurst, N.J. Wasteland there attracts 280 species of birds, but it has a permanent, near-invisible danger. Credit Vincent Tullo for The New York Times. (Want to ... |
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Nafta, Ann Coulter, NFL Draft: Your Thursday Briefing - New York Times
Washington Post | Ann Coulter vows to speak at Berkeley Washington Post April 25, 2017 5:45 PM EDT - Conservative commentator Ann Coulter says threats of violence won't stop her from speaking at the University of California at Berkeley on April 27. (Reuters). April 25, 2017 5:45 PM EDT - Conservative commentator Ann ... |
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Ann Coulter vows to speak at Berkeley - Washington Post
The lawsuit filed by Berkeley College Republicans and Young America's Foundation accuses the school of discriminating against conservative guest speakers by placing onerous time and location restrictions on their appearances.
The lawsuit seeks to end what it calls an "unconstitutionally vague policy" that the school "selectively" applies to stifle conservative viewpoints.
In response to the lawsuit the school said it welcomes speakers of all political viewpoints, including Coulter.
"UC Berkeley has been working to accommodate a mutually agreeable time for Ms. Coulter's visit -- which has not yet been scheduled -- and remains committed to doing so. The campus seeks to ensure that all members of the Berkeley and larger community -- including Ms. Coulter herself -- remain safe during such an event."
The lawsuit accuses the school of adopting an unwritten "high-profile speaker policy" with the help of the mayor's office and Berkeley Police after the ill-fated Yiannopoulos event. The policy restricts speaking events to before 3 p.m. and says they must be held in a "securable" location, though it's not clear what that means, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit says the stipulations led BCR to cancel an event featuring conservative writer David Horowitz after the school said it would have to pay $5,788 for a security fee.
Coulter said she faced similar time and location conditions for her appearance. Organizers said Coulter's speech was intended as a "counterpoint" to a talk by Maria Echaveste, an adviser to US President Bill Clinton.
Coulter said she accepted the terms, only to have the school "cancel" the event.
The school said its track record shows a commitment to hosting conservative speakers sponsored by BCR, including Ben Shapiro
"... The organization's efforts have led many notable conservatives to share their viewpoints with students and the public on campus," a statement said.
The lawsuit demands make no specific reference to Coulter's event. In addition to unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, it asks for an injunction preventing the school from applying "any unwritten or unpublished policy restricting the exercise of political expression on the UC Berkeley campus."
The lawsuit also asks the court to prevent the school from "selectively enforcing the High-Profile Speaker Policy" against BCR or "unilaterally canceling" speaking events hosted by the group in compliance with written, published university policies."
In a letter to the school threatening legal action last week, organizers said they followed protocol, acceding to the school's "discriminatory" conditions, only to have the event rescheduled to a time when most students would be studying for exams.
In response, Berkeley's counsel faulted organizers for failing to notify the school or seek a security review before signing its contract with Coulter.
CNN's Stephanie Becker and Sonya Hamasaki contributed to this report.
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UC Berkeley Republicans sue school over Ann Coulter talk - CNN
BERKELEY, Calif. University of California, Berkeley students who invited Ann Coulter to speak on campus filed a lawsuit Monday against the university, saying it is discriminating against conservative speakers and violating students' rights to free speech.
A legal team led by Harmeet Dhillon, a San Francisco attorney who represents the Berkeley College Republicans, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Dhillon is also a committeewoman to the Republican National Convention for California and former vice chairwoman of the California Republican Party.
"This case arises from efforts by one of California's leading public universities, UC Berkeley once known as the "birthplace of the Free Speech Movement" to restrict and stifle the speech of conservative students whose voices fall beyond the campus political orthodoxy," the lawsuit says.
Campus Republicans invited Coulter to speak at Berkeley this Thursday, but Berkeley officials informed the group last week that the event was being called off for security concerns.
The cancellation came after a series of violent clashes this year on campus and in downtown Berkeley between far-right and far-left protesters.
The university then backtracked and offered an alternate date, but Coulter has insisted that she plans to still come Thursday.
Coulter tweeted Monday that the lawsuit "demands appropriate & safe venue for my speech THIS THURSDAY."
The lawsuit demands unstated damages, compensation for attorney fees, a trial by jury and an injunction against Berkeley officials from "restricting the exercise of political expression on the UC Berkeley campus."
UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said the university's attorneys were reviewing the complaint but were confident that "we are on very solid legal grounds." The university and its police department say they have credible intelligence of security concerns if the event goes ahead Thursday and they need to balance their need to allow free speech with the need to ensure campus security.
"The constitution permits the university to take such steps to protect public safety while facilitating expressive activities, and that is exactly what we are doing," Mogulof said.
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Ann Coulter's backers at UC Berkeley file lawsuit | Fox News
The hecklers used their veto.
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter told Fox News on Wednesday she would no longer give a planned speech at UC Berkeley after Young Americas Foundation pulled its support for the event amid threats of violence, calling her decision "a dark day for free speech in America."
The speech was originally scheduled to take place Thursday but Berkeley asked to postpone it until next month after protests over the planned speech grew into a nationally-watched firestorm.
"I looked over my shoulder and my allies had joined the other team."
- Ann Coulter
BERKELEY COLLEGE REPUBLICANS EXPLAIN LAWSUIT
Coulter, YAF -- which had helped organize and finance the event -- and the Berkeley College Republicans initially fought the schools decision, with YAF and the college Republicans filing a civil rights lawsuit on Monday. But by Wednesday YAF had actively opposed Coulters speech, she said, and ordered the lawyer not [to] file for [a] court order which would have mandated a room for the talk. The college Republicans are bound by YAFs decision, Coulter said, so theres nothing more I can do.
I looked over my shoulder and my allies had joined the other team, Coulter said in an email.
In a series of tweets, Coulter said she was "so sorry for free speech crushed by thugs."
"Its sickening when a radical thuggish institution like Berkeley can so easily snuff out the cherished American right to free speech," she tweeted.
'THE FIVE' ON ANN COULTER AT UC BERKELEY
In a Tuesday statement posted to the YAF website and signed by both YAF and the executive board of the college Republicans, the groups said Berkeley "failed to meet our demands" to provide a safe environment for the speech.
"Ms. Coulter may still choose to speak in some form on campus, but Young America's Foundation will not jeopardize the safety of its staff or students," the statement said.
YAF said Wednesday the group would hold a 4 p.m. ET news conference.
"The lawsuit has not been dropped," said YAF spokesman Spencer Brown. "At no time did Berkeley provide a time or place for Coulter to speak, and unconstitutionally violated the First Amendment rights of students in preventing YAF's campus lecture from taking place. We are moving ahead with the lawsuit."
Coulter was coy about what she would be doing instead of giving the talk.
I think Im still going to Berkeley, but there will be no speech, Coulter said Wednesday.
The university's attempt to call off the event came after a series of violent clashes this year on campus and in downtown Berkeley between far-right and far-left protesters.
The lawsuit demands unstated damages and compensation for attorney fees, a trial by jury and an injunction against Berkeley officials from "restricting the exercise of political expression on the UC Berkeley campus."
It names four university officials as defendants, including University of California President Janet Napolitano and Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks, and three police officials, including university police chief Margo Bennett.
The University of California president's office issued a statement saying it welcomes speakers of all political viewpoints and "is committed to providing a forum to enable Ann Coulter to speak on the Berkeley campus."
"The campus seeks to ensure that all members of the Berkeley and larger community -- including Ms. Coulter herself -- remain safe during such an event."
Fox News Michael Lundin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Ann Coulter cancels Berkeley event amid protests | Fox News