BERKELEY, Calif. ― Violent protests on the University of California, Berkeley's campus forced school officials to cancel a Wednesday night appearance by right-wing agitator Milo Yiannopoulos.
The Berkeley College Republicans had invited the 32-year-old Breitbart editor and conservative provocateur, who's been permanently banned from Twitter for harassment, to address an audience of 500.
University police said that a crowd of roughly 1,500 people had toppled light poles, started fires and hurled objects at officers before the event. Security had been heightened, as students had announced demonstrations against Yiannopoulos.
As the violence escalated Wednesday night, police placed the campus on lockdown and advised students to shelter in place, then ordered demonstrators multiple times to leave the area.
The university and its police department had placed "dozens of additional police officers" on duty and attempted to use various methods of crowd control, to no avail. "It was simply impossible to maintain order given the level of threat, disruption, and violence," the administration said in a statement.
Yiannopoulos styles himself as a free-speech libertarian, and under that guise peddles provocative commentary saying "rape culture" is a myth and transgender people have mental illnesses.
His scheduled visit exposed the difficulty that Berkeley, like colleges across the country, has in balancing its commitment to freedom of expression with diversity and tolerance.
The question is more potent for Berkeley, which prides itself upon the student-led Free Speech Movement that began in 1964 with students protesting against university rules that limited political activity on campus.
Berkeley Student Sai Dulla, 30, disagreed with the violence, favoring instead peaceful debate and "free speech."
Allie Smith, 22, a Berkeley City College student, said the small numbers who committed vandalism tarnished an otherwise positive experience. As she spoke, a brass band played and a crowd danced.
"This is what I came here for ― people who want to be together," said Smith, who advocated "creating safe spaces rather than meeting hate with hate."