Milo Yiannopoulos
Breitbart tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos, had drawn outrage after his videos defending pedophilia surfaced on the internet, Feb. 19, 2017. In this photo, Milo Yiannopoulos, a conservative columnist and internet personality, looks at his tablet device during a press conference down the street from the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 15, 2016. Photo: Getty

An event featuring conservative blogger and far-right speaker Milo Yiannopoulos and former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli was canceled Friday night by the University of California, Davis, after protesters blocked access to the venue.

Campus police barricaded the doors to the event in a bid to control protesters, who demanded that the program be shut down. It was canceled half an hour prior to its scheduled start after the university authorities determined the event could not continue safely. Some protesters held placards that read: “Your facism [sic] is showing,” “Deport the racists” and “Shut it down.”

“I am deeply disappointed with the events of this evening,” UC Davis Interim Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter, said in a statement. “Our community is founded on principles of respect for all views, even those that we personally find repellent. As I have stated repeatedly, a university is at its best when it listens to and critically engages opposing views, especially ones that many of us find upsetting or even offensive.”

The university dismissed that reports of broken windows or property damage. One person was arrested inside the venue but no other people were taken into custody, it added.

Yiannopoulos and Shkreli were to give a speech at the event arranged by the UC Davis College Republicans. The Breitbart columnist issued a statement on Facebook and said the program was canceled after “violence from left-wing” protesters.

“My event at UC Davis tonight has been cancelled after violence from left-wing protestors [sic]. There are reports of hammers, smashed windows and barricades being torn away. The campus police can’t guarantee anyone’s safety so I’m not being allowed anywhere near the building. Stay safe, everyone,” Yiannopoulos said in the statement.

Last July, Twitter permanently banned Yiannopoulos after he called on his followers to attack “Ghostbusters” actress Leslie Jones with racist tweets.

Shkreli, the former chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, told the Sacramento Bee that the demonstration showed an “underbelly of violence and intolerance that just doesn't speak well for the student body.” He was reportedly at the event to debate Yiannopoulos.

“I’m pro-feminism; I don’t think these people know that,” Shkreli said as he was surrounded by the protesters. “I was going to tear Milo to shreds ... he doesn’t understand feminism.”

In December 2015, Shkreli resigned as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals after he was arrested on securities fraud charges. He faced widespread criticism earlier that year for increasing the price of a lifesaving malaria medication by 5,000 percent and was suspended from Twitter earlier this month for harassing a journalist.

RELATED STORIES