Milo Yiannopoulos published a post on his Facebook page Friday afternoon, in which he announced his intention to return to Berkeley later this year.
In his post, Yiannopoulos said he is planning an event that will span over several days, called “Milo’s Free Speech Week,” in Berkeley, including on the UC Berkeley campus. He said he intends to hold talks, rallies and parties, “all in the name of free expression and the First Amendment.” He added that everyone will be welcome to attend the event, regardless of their political affiliation.
“We will stand united against the ‘progressive’ Left,” Yiannopoulos said in his post. “Free speech belongs to everyone — not just the spoilt brats of the academy.”
Berkeley College Republicans invited Yiannopoulos to speak on campus Feb. 1, but UCPD was forced to cancel the event when fiery protests erupted on Sproul Plaza, threatening public safety. A few days after the event was canceled, Yiannopoulos announced his intention to reschedule his talk at the UC Berkeley campus, but BCR had not heard back from Yiannopoulos about coordinating his return.
Neither campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof nor a member of BCR could be immediately reached for comment regarding Yiannopoulos’ recent announcement.
Yiannopoulos said in his post that during Milo’s Free Speech Week, he intends on distributing the Mario Savio Award — a free speech prize that will be given to the person who he believes has done significant work to protect free expression at UC Berkeley and the nearby area. He added that each day of Milo’s Free Speech Week will be “dedicated to a different enemy of free speech, including feminism, Black Lives Matter and Islam.”
According to Yiannopoulos, if the campus administration does not help coordinate the event, he still plans on returning to the campus.
“If UC Berkeley does not actively assist us in the planning and execution of this event, we will extend festivities to an entire month. We will establish a tent city on Sproul Plaza protesting the university’s total dereliction of its duty and encourage students at other universities to follow suit,” Yiannopoulos said. “I intend to return Berkeley to its rightful place as the home of free speech — whether university administrators and violent far-left antifa thugs like it or not.”