Milo Yiannopoulos speech at NYU postponed for safety reasons

FILE- In this Feb. 21, 2017 file photo, Milo Yiannopoulos speaks during a news conference in New York. Citing safety concerns, New York University has postponed a speech by the right-wing provocateur that was scheduled for Halloween night, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

NEW YORK – A scheduled Halloween night speech by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos at New York University was postponed by school officials due to public safety concerns.

"New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio today requested that NYU postpone and reschedule the classroom appearance by Milo Yiannopoulos for public safety reasons in light of the nearby Halloween parades and New York Police Department assessments of risk," NYU spokesman John Beckman said in a statement Tuesday.

"Given the importance of close coordination between NYU's Public Safety personnel and the NYPD to ensuring safety, the University agreed to the postponement," Beckman said.

In an Instagram post, Yiannopoulos blasted the move, calling himself "the most censored man in America."

"The entire city of New York is terrified of one gay man stepping out of line and calling out the Left as the intolerant, censorious crybabies they are. And they just proved it_by censoring me again," Yiannopoulos wrote.

Earlier in the day, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said he was sending a "very large detail" of officers to Yiannopoulos' event at NYU to prevent a repeat of a brawl that erupted after another provocative figure, Proud Boys founder Gavin McGinnis, spoke Oct. 12 at a Republican club event in Manhattan.

"The NYPD can and would handle anything. But needlessly having this immediately adjacent to one of the biggest NYC events all year doesn't make a lot of sense," de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips said in a tweet. "NYU is smart to reschedule it for a different day."