BERKELEY, Calif. — Ann Coulter said Wednesday that she was forced to cancel her speaking event Thursday at the University of California, Berkeley amid concerns of violence, calling it “a dark day for free speech in America.”

Police and university officials said they were still preparing for possible violence and protests regardless of whether Coulter comes to campus. In an email to The Associated Press, Coulter said that despite the event’s cancellation she might decide to turn up anyway.

Although she's cancelled a Thursday speech at the University of California, Berkeley, conservative firebrand Ann Coulter says she still might stroll around the campus that she calls "the graveyard of the First Amendment." Associated Press/J. Scott Applewhite

“I have my flights, so I thought I might stroll around the graveyard of the First Amendment,” Coulter said in an emailed message when asked if she was still coming to Berkeley.

Officials at UC Berkeley said last week they feared more violence on campus if Coulter followed through with plans to speak. They cited “very specific intelligence” of threats that could endanger Coulter and students, as Berkeley becomes a platform for extremist protesters on both sides of the political spectrum.

Efforts by the university to cancel or delay the event dealt a blow to Berkeley’s image as a bastion of tolerance and free speech.

Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks sent a letter to the campus Wednesday saying the university is committed to defending free speech but also to protecting its students.

“This is a university, not a battlefield,” Dirks said in the letter. “The university has two non-negotiable commitments, one to Free Speech the other to the safety of our campus community.”

The Berkeley College Republicans and the Young America’s Foundation, a conservative group that had helped book Coulter’s campus speaking events, both pulled their support Tuesday citing fears of violence. They blamed the university for failing to ensure protection of conservative speakers.

“Berkeley College Republicans do not want to endanger people’s lives so because of the university’s unwillingness to do their job we are forced to cancel the event,” Troy Warden, president of the campus Republicans, said Wednesday.

Coulter echoed the blame on Twitter: “I’m very sad about Berkeley’s cancellation, but my sadness is greater than that. It’s a dark day for free speech in America.”

Related Stories