Speech by feminist blogger canceled after anonymous threat

Blogger, media critic, and feminist Anita Sarkeesian canceled a Wednesday morning speech at Utah State University after an anonymous email was sent out threatening "the deadliest school shooting in American history."

On Twitter, Sarkeesian wrote that she "requested pat downs or metal detectors after mass shooting threat but because of Utah's open carry laws police wouldn't do firearm searches." On USU's website, the school posted a statement saying, "Sarkeesian was informed that, in accordance with the State of Utah law regarding the carrying of firearms, if a person has a valid concealed firearm permit and is carrying a weapon, they are permitted to have it at the venue."

The email was sent to several USU staff members by an anonymous person claiming to be a USU student, the Standard-Examiner reports. It read in part, "feminists have ruined my life and I will have my revenge, for my sake and the sake of all the others they've wronged." USU spokesman Tim Vitale told the Standard-Examiner that authorities "determined the threat seems to be consistent with ones [Sarkeesian] has received at other places around the nation. The threat we received is not out of the norm for [this woman]."

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Sarkeesian, who runs the video blog Feminist Frequency and video series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, said on Twitter that although she canceled her speech, she's not going to stay quiet. "I'm safe," she tweeted. "I will continue my work. I will continue speaking out. The whole game industry must stand up against the harassment of women."