White nationalist Richard Spencer spoke on the University of Florida campus Thursday, met with vocal protest inside and outside the venue.
Update: Richard Spencer event has concluded and he has left the University of Florida campus.
— UF Public Safety (@UFPublicSafety)
His appearance has drawn conflict, protests and media stories dating back to when UF initially tried to deny him the speaking space only to balk under threat of legal action. Hundreds of cops and protesters descended onto Florida’s largest university’s campus on Thursday.
5:00 p.m. - Richard Spencer has departed from the University of Florida, leaving behind an uncomfortable calm and some scattered skirmishes.
The official count of tickets scanned for Spencer’s speech: 456.
A heavy police presence remains on the campus, as do hundreds of protestors. The sound of a helicopter hovering overhead echoes off the pavement. Barricades still line the streets.
In some corners, protestors chased Spencer supporters, shouting at them. They accused one man holding a “Founding Fathers = Alt Rights” sign of making a “lynching gesture” and began to jostle with him. Someone ripped his sign apart
Parting remarks
4:00 p.m. - Spencer’s closing remarks: “You think that you shut me down. Well you didn’t. You failed at your own game...the world is going to have a very different impression of the University of Florida. The world is not gonna be proud of you.”
"Go home Spencer:" Alt-right event at UF regresses into extended shooting match
4:00 p.m. - The heckling came early and often on Thursday. The yelling, chanting and clenching of fists lasted for about an hour.
While UF allowed Richard Spencer to speak on campus, at least 100 UF students and enemies of the prominent firebrand attempted a so-called “heckler’s veto.”
“Go home, Spencer!” protesters yelled, as scores of their peers marched outside the venue. “What are you still doing here?”
Supporters of Spencer responded: “You will not replace us!”
3:35 p.m. - As Richard Spencer tried to shout over a defiant crowd inside the Philips Center, an uneasy crowd gathered outside around a man wearing a shirt with a swastika and then chased him until police placed him behind a public safety barrier.
This got tense. Lots of shoving as crowd walked him out of area. Some call for violence. Others say don't do it.
— Alex Harris (@harrisalexc)
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