California Protesters Shut Down Breitbart’s Milo Yiannopoulos

Milo Yiannopoulos Image by Getty Images

By Daniel J. Solomon January 16, 2017

Milo Yiannopoulos was apparently too much for one college to handle, as heavy protests led to the cancellation of the Breitbart editor’s stop at the University of California at Davis.

“My event at UC Davis tonight has been cancelled after violence from left-wing protestors,” Yiannopoulos wrote on Facebook. “There are reports of hammers, smashed windows and barricades being torn away. The campus police can’t guarantee anyone’s safety so I’m not being allowed anywhere near the building. Stay safe, everyone.”

His claims of violence largely went unconfirmed, but news outlets reported the Friday night event had to be called off after demonstrators blocked access to the venue. Yiannopoulos, visiting American colleges as part of his “Dangerous Faggot” tour, was slated to appear with the pharmaceutical investor Martin Shkreli, who has attracted criticism following charges of price-gouging for medicine.

University administrators said they regretted the turn of events, describing them as anathema to the school’s commitment to open dialogue. Following the cancellation, Yiannopoulos and Shkreli led a small protest the next day on campus.

Yiannopoulos, who is openly gay and originally from Britain, has a record of racist, sexist and anti-Semitic remarks and identifies as a fellow traveler of the “alt-right.” He recently inked a book deal with Simon & Schuster to tell his personal story and recount his experiences from the presidential campaign, in which he supported President-elect Donald Trump, whom he refers to as “Daddy.”

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO