Identity of Speakers
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Gavin McInnes
Student
Invited for non-academic lectureGavin McInnes is a Canadian writer, far-right political commentator, and co-founder of Vice Media and Vice Magazine.
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
University-sponsored lecture/address/panel
Rally or protest
Recognized student group event
Other
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Incident Political Orientation:
Right-of-spectrum -
Incident Responses:
Rally or Protests
Other Law Enforcement
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Incident Status:
No litigation
- Incident Protested
- Did not involve Speech Codes
Summary
| College Republicans at New York University (“NYU”) invited Gavin McInnes, a controversial far-right media personality, to speak at an event on campus. When McInnes arrived, protestors gathered outside the front entrance to NYU’s Kimmel Student Center and began chanting at McInnes and the police who were on-scene. At one point, a man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat tried to pass through the protestors to the Kimmel Center but was pushed, punched at least once, and had his hat snatched away before he could enter the building. Protestors burned the hat before police deployed to push most of the crowd away from the entrance. Eventually, McInnes also attempted to pass through the crowd—according to one source involved in the event, McInnes refused to enter through a side entrance that NYU officials had arranged for him—and was pepper sprayed by the protestors. A group of NYPD officers moved into the crowd and detained eleven people. Five of these protestors were eventually charged with misdemeanors while the remaining six were issued violations. No NYU student was among the detained protestors. Once McInnes recovered and began his presentation, a large group of NYU students began disrupting the event, chanting and yelling every time McInnes attempted to speak. An NYU administrator attempted to convince the protesting students to “respect” McInnes and allow him to speak, but the students refused. Although McInnes tried to engage with the students by offering to debate one of them, he also insulted the administrator who had attempted to quiet the crowd—calling him a “dumb, liberal a**hole.” After about 20 minutes of disruptions, McInnes decided to leave the event. According to NYU spokesman John Beckman, no student at this second protest was violent and no arrests were made. |
