Protests shutdown far-right speaker at UC Davis
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2016 file photo, pharmaceutical chief Martin Shkreli speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington during the House Committee on Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on a decision by his former company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, to significantly raise the price of the anti-parasitic medication Daraprim. Heated protests at the University of California, Davis brought the cancellation of planned speeches by far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos and former pharmaceutical executive Shkreli shortly before the event was to begin. University police put up barricades as protesters shouting "shut it down" grew increasingly rowdy in the hours leading up to the talks on Friday night, Jan. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) (The Associated Press)
Speeches by far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos (yuh-NAH'-poh-lihs) and former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli were canceled after heated protests erupted at the University of California, Davis.
University police put up barricades as protesters shouting "shut it down" grew increasingly rowdy in the hours leading up to the Friday night talks. The UC Davis College Republicans, who sponsored the event, chose to cancel.
Yiannopoulos writes for right-wing Breitbart News and is permanently banned from Twitter after leading a harassment campaign against "Ghostbusters" actress Leslie Jones. He said on his Facebook page that the event was canceled after "violence from left-wing protesters."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But campus police said there was no violence or property destruction, and no arrests were made.
The school's Interim Chancellor Ralph Hexter said he was "deeply disappointed" by the protests and cancellation.