• Milo Yiannopoulos, the polarizing Breitbart News editor, speaks at California Polytechnic State University as part of his "The Dangerous Faggot Tour" of college campuses, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, in San Luis Obispo, Calif. His scheduled visit Wednesday to the University of California at Berkeley has raised an issue facing campuses across America at the dawn of the Trump presidency: What is the line between free speech and hate speech? (David Middlecamp/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP) Photo: David Middlecamp, AP / © 2016 The Tribune (San Luis Obispo)
Photo: David Middlecamp, AP
Milo Yiannopoulos, the polarizing Breitbart News editor, speaks at California Polytechnic State University as part of his "The Dangerous Faggot Tour" of college campuses, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, in San Luis Obispo, Calif. His scheduled visit Wednesday to the University of California at Berkeley has raised an issue facing campuses across America at the dawn of the Trump presidency: What is the line between free speech and hate speech? (David Middlecamp/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP)
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — The University of California at Berkeley is bracing for major protests Wednesday against Milo Yiannopoulos (yuh-NAH'-poh-lihs), a polarizing Breitbart News editor, on the last stop of a tour aimed at defying what he calls an epidemic of political correctness on college campuses.
Tight security is planned at Berkeley, where several student groups have called for protests and pledged to shut down the evening event. Several of Yiannopoulous' talks at other campuses have been canceled due to protests or security reasons.
The 32-year-old right-wing provocateur is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and a self-proclaimed internet troll whose comments have been criticized as racist, misogynist, anti-Muslim and white supremacist. He was banned from Twitter after leading a harassment campaign against "Ghostbusters" actress Leslie Jones.
His visit to Berkeley is sponsored by the campus Republican club. The university has stressed it did not invite Yiannopoulos and does not endorse his ideas but is committed to free speech and rejected calls to cancel the event.
On Wednesday, the university sent a notice to all students that warned of crowds near the student union, where the 500-seat, sold-out event was scheduled.
"We anticipate there will be major protest/ demonstration activity leading up to and surrounding this event," the letter from school officials said. It did not discourage protests but advised those who didn't wish to participate to avoid the area.
Pieter Sittler, a spokesman for the Berkeley College Republicans, said the club doesn't support everything Yiannopoulos says but "he gives a voice to repressed conservative thought on American college campuses." He uses "levity and humor" that should not be taken literally, Sittler said.
Yiannopoulos' talks have sparked protests, shouting matches and occasional violence at stops around the country. A man was shot and wounded at protests outside his Jan. 21 talk at the University of Washington.