Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
8 Detained, 3 Arrested During Milo Yiannopoulos Speech Protest At CSUF [Updated]
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
()
Eight people were detained and three were arrested at California State University, Fullerton on Tuesday night in connection with protests that broke out around conservative firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos's appearance on campus.
Yiannopoulos, a former tech editor for Breitbart.com who was previously banned from Twitter for harassing actress Leslie Jones, had been invited to speak at CSUF on Halloween night by the school's College Republicans student group. The university had said in a statement that there would be " increased law enforcement presence on campus" during Yiannopoulos's speech.
A group of about 200 protesters showed up at the sold-out event, where someone in the crowd reportedly used pepper spray, Captain Scot Willey of the CSUF Police Department told City News Service. Of the three people arrested at the protest, two were cited and released with misdemeanor charges of violation of a dispersal order, a California State University, Fullerton official told LAist on Wednesday; the third was booked at Orange County Jail for parole violations (possession of weapons, knife and pepper spray.)
One woman sought treatment from firefighters, but no other injuries were reported at the scene, the L.A. Times reports. Officers eventually "cleared out a rowdy crowd of about 150 people" near a campus library around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the L.A. Times.
Support for LAist comes from
Yiannopoulos' announcement of his planned appearance at CSUF earlier this fall spurred a Change.org petition titled "No Alt-Right Speakers or Hate Groups at CSUF," which garnered over 5,000 signatures. CSUF Chief Communications Officer Jeffrey Cook noted that the event was sponsored by the CSUF College Republicans and not the university itself in a September 12 statement, writing, "While many at the University and in the broader community may find Mr. Yiannopoulos’ remarks distasteful, if not wholly objectionable, the law is clear: what some consider hateful speech is, in fact, protected speech."
Yiannopoulos' visit to CSUF on Tuesday came approximately a month after his planned "Berkeley Free Speech Week" event fell apart in September, lasting 15 minutes and costing UC Berkeley around $800,000 in security arrangements.
Note: An earlier version of this story stated that at least eight people were arrested at the protest surrounding Yiannopoulos' speech at CSUF on Tuesday. A CSUF official has since clarified that eight people were detained in total, but only three were arrested.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The critical findings are part of long-awaited after-action report was released Thursday. It contains recommendations for increasing emergency staffing and updating old systems. -
Diving has changed, mountain biking has been added. Here's where to watch the Olympics in person in 2028. -
'A Great Day in the Stoke' is a free, daylong event in Orange County billed as 'the largest gathering of Black surfers in history.' The fourth annual festival is set for Saturday in Huntington Beach. -
Kimmel returned less than a week after ABC suspended his show over comments he made about the assassination of right wing activist Charlie Kirk. -
Southern California might see some light rain tonight into Wednesday morning. After that, cooler weather is on the way, but expect the humidity to remain. -
A gate tax at Disney? It's a possibility.
Best of LAist