iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Students protesting a talk given by the conservative co-founder of Vice Media at New York University on Thursday led to the arrest of 11 people, according to the New York Police Department.
Gavin McInnes, a comedian and commentator, was giving a talk organized by the NYU College Republicans when protesters interrupted the event at the school’s Rosenthal Pavilion.
Thanks for asking if I'm OK guys. I was sprayed with pepper spray but being called a Nazi burned way more. ????
— Gavin McInnes (@Gavin_McInnes) February 3, 2017
A group called the NYU Anti-Fascists was involved in protesting against the speaker, who is a founder of Proud Boys, an online organization advocating for “Western chauvinism.”
A statement from the NYU College Republicans said they were “disappointed that many students on this campus are so disrespectful when it comes to hearing opposing speakers.”
The protests and arrests came a day after an event by far-right Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos was cancelled at the University of California at Berkeley due to concerns by the college about public safety due to protests. The school said a largely peaceful protest against Yiannopoulos was tarnished by a small group of “outside agitators” that were involved in property destruction.
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