There is a clear and present danger to conservative students at the University of California, Berkeley.

The birthplace of the so-called free speech movement is now the epicenter of a nefarious movement to silence freedom-loving young people.

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Conservative commentator Ann Coulter had been scheduled to speak Thursday, but she canceled.

Leftwing groups had threatened to silence Ms. Coulter by any means necessary.

But the university refused to guarantee the safety of Ms. Coulter or the students who invited her to speak – the Young America’s Foundation.

I know these students. I know this organization. They are good people – patriots all. They are students who battle with words and ideas – not baseball bats and switchblades.

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And contrary to accusations made by some conservatives on Twitter, Young America’s Foundation did not “acquiesce” to the liberal bullies at Berkeley.

It’s important for you to understand the context of what YAF was hoping to accomplish with Ms. Coulter’s planned address.

It was not meant to be some sort of free-for-all in the campus plaza. The event was meant to be a civilized lecture inside some sort of auditorium or lecture hall.

YAF is not in the business of hosting conservative gatherings that resemble professional wrestling shows. They are meant to foster thoughtful and enlightened debate and conversation.

So why – you may ask – did the conservatives not proceed with Ms. Coulter’s speech?

It turns out the university’s police department has a stand down policy – meaning they do not get involved unless there is an imminent loss of life, according to a lawsuit filed by YAF.

In other words – liberals get a free pass to beat the living daylights out of conservative kids so long as the victims still have a pulse.

All the while Berkeley administrators look the other way – while speech liberals disagree with is silenced.

“Berkeley should be ashamed for creating this hostile atmosphere,” YAF president Ron Robinson told the Washington Examiner. “Berkeley made it impossible to hold a lecture due to the lack of assurances for protections from foreseeable violence from unrestrained leftist agitators.”

It would’ve been like throwing red meat to a pack of liberal jackals.

“I had the misfortune of being in a leftist riot as a student, and I wouldn’t want to put my children or anyone else’s children into that situation without assurances that law enforcement would protect them,” Robinson said.

I suppose we should not be all that surprised over the campus uprisings happening across the country. These are the children of the Obama generation – a generation that was taught to silence any speech they disagree with.

“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” President Obama once said.

That is the legacy of the Obama administration – if you can’t silence conservatives, just beat the living daylights out of them.

It is the irony of ironies.

The so-called free speech movement started at Berkeley and ended at Berkeley – not so much with a whimper – but with a punch to the face.