Conservative writer and speaker Ann Coulter said Wednesday she is pulling out of her planned speech at Berkeley.
“There will be no speech,” Coulter told Reuters. “I looked over my shoulder and my allies had joined the other team.”
University officials canceled Coulter’s April 27 event, citing security concerns amid protests from liberals. The university rescheduled her speech for May 2, offering an “appropriate, protectable venue.”
Coulter, who then decided to proceed with the event on the original date, said that “I’m showing up this Thursday. … It’s up to the police to keep me safe.”
Her announcement comes after a conservative group who was sponsoring the speech, the Young America’s Foundation, said it would not help with the speech anymore. “Young America’s Foundation will not jeopardize the safety of its staff or students,” it said Tuesday.
Coulter told The New York Times: “It’s a sad day for free speech.”
Two progressives – Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren – both criticized the decision of the university to cancel the speech.
Sanders, I-Vt., said said, “Obviously Ann Coulter’s outrageous ― to my mind, off the wall. But you know, people have a right to give their two cents’ worth, give a speech, without fear of violence and intimidation.”
Warren, the Massachusetts Democratic senator, said: “My view is, let her speak and don’t show up. If you don’t like it, don’t show up.”
Meghana Kurup and Caitlin Yilek contributed to this story.
