AUBURN, Ala. — Richard Spencer, an undisputed white nationalist, will be giving a speech at Auburn University’s James E. Foy Hall next Tuesday night on the topics of Trump, Syria, identity, and the Alt-Right. The speech is free and open to the public and will take place between 7 and 9 p.m.
Spencer made the announcement to the world in a Twitter video that can be seen below.
***RICHARD SPENCER @AUBURN***
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 7-9 PM
JAMES E. FOY HALL pic.twitter.com/BjEJ0PXOxN— Richard ?? Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) April 12, 2017
According to a report from Al.com, Spencer was neither invited by Auburn University nor an AU campus group. Rather, Spencer is paying an undisclosed amount to use the space for his event.
In an official statement, Auburn University said that it does not endorse Spencer’s views, but it understands that all Americans are protected from government censorship by the First Amendment. “We strongly deplore his views, which run counter to those of this institution. While his event isn’t affiliated with the university, Auburn supports the constitutional right to free speech,” the University said. “We encourage the campus community to respond to speech they find objectionable with their own views in civil discourse and to do so with respect and inclusion.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has established that even the most controversial and hateful speakers are protected by the Constitution. In Brandenburg v. Ohio, the court ruled that even the speech of the Ku Klux Klan can be protected as long as its speech is not “inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.”
Spencer will not be the first controversial Alt-Right figure to visit a state school. Former Breitbart Editor Milo Yiannopoulos visited both Auburn and The University of Alabama last fall at the invitation of both schools’ College Republican groups.
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