Anne Coulter has been silenced—and even the most liberal of her critics should question whether or not that’s a good thing.
The conservative firebrand officially canceled her plans to speak Thursday at the University of California, Berkeley, after the groups sponsoring her appearance pulled out over fears of violence.
The sponsors, The Young Americans, had announced two days earlier that the organization “will not jeopardize the safety of its staff or students,” as threats mounted against Coulter and the university pushed for a different date when fewer students would be on campus.
Coulter had said she was committed to speak even after Berkeley nixed the speech at the planned venue. But once The Young Americans backed out, there was little more the author could do.
“It’s a sad day for free speech,” Coulter said in an email to The New York Times. “Everyone who should believe in free speech fought against it or ran away.”
It may not be the best semester for free speech on college campuses. Controversial conservative writer Charles Murphy was physically intimidated and a professor was injured at the hands of protesters who stormed a guest lecture he tried to give at Middlebury College in Vermont two months ago.
Read more at The New York Times.
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