Denying others their right to speak is standard procedure for leftists these days, and it has happened again, this time at Binghamton University in New York.
An event given by the College Republicans last week, featuring economist Arthur Laffer, a former Reagan administration official, was shut down within two minutes of starting due to loud, obnoxious protests right inside the venue. Chairman of the New York State Federation of College Republicans Bobby Walker said Antifa was to blame for the interruption.
“On Monday, Nov. 18, a speaker sponsored by the College Republicans was disrupted and ultimately prevented from presenting by a large group of students and others,” Binghamton University tweeted. “The speaker was prevented from addressing the audience led by an individual using a bull horn. That individual was arrested, as was another individual who attempted to interfere with police.”
Binghamton said it expected the protests and took preventive measures, including moving the event to a larger hall on its New York state campus, offering critics their own hall, deploying more police and security and asking the audience to be respectful.
In a follow-up statement, the school expressed disappointment and vowed to continue investigating.
“The University is incredibly disappointed” that “protestors chose to infringe on the expressive activity of others and to prevent those who wished to hear the speaker from doing so.
“The University reserves the right to pursue appropriate charges or disciplinary action against those organizations and individuals as relevant information is confirmed.”
Laffer, recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump, had intended to teach students about free enterprise and limited government.
The incident comes days after another confrontation at an outdoor display hosted by the College Republicans, which drew in hundreds of protesters and a response from police.
In a tweet Monday, New York Sen. Fred Akshar said he was “disgusted by the chaos” and announced that he would no longer go through with a planned visit to the campus.
