Penn State University canceled a planned comedy event on Monday that was to be hosted by the founder of the far-right group the Proud Boys after student protests became unmanageable.

Penn State released a statement moments before the event was set to begin, citing "the threat of escalating violence," as the reason for the cancellation.

Penn State University students protest the event that was to feature the founder of the far-right group, the Proud Boys.

"Due to the threat of escalating violence associated with tonight's event, Penn State University Police determined that it was necessary to cancel the speaking event in the interest of campus safety. Demonstrations regrettably turned violent," the university said.

The event had drawn outrage from the moment it was announced, as it featured Gavin McInnes, founder of the Proud Boys, a group designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Penn State University students march and chant in protest of the controversial event.

Alex Stein, a self-proclaimed professional troll, was also billed to co-host the event. According to a statement released by the university's president Neeli Bendapudi, Stein entered the protests in an attempt to heighten the tension.

"Tonight, Stein and McInnes will celebrate a victory for being canceled, when in actuality, they contributed to the very violence that compromised their ability to speak," Bendapudi's statement reads.

The university had previously come out against the invitation of the two men, citing their hateful and discriminatory rhetoric, but acknowledged that due to their public university status, they could not ban the event due to free-speech concerns.

"As a public university, we are unalterably obligated under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment to protect various expressive rights, even for those whose viewpoints offend our basic institutional values and our personal sensibilities," the university wrote in a statement.

The Proud Boys are no stranger to political controversy. Several of its members have been indicted in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. In June, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was charged with seditious conspiracy.

The group grew in prominence during former President Donald Trump's time in office, and received more recognition when Trump mentioned them by name during a 2020 presidential debate with Joe Biden. In the debate, Trump had instructed the group to "stand back and stand by."

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