Milo Yiannopoulos, a controversial editor of Breitbart News, has been disinvited from speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, one of the largest gatherings of conservative activists in the country. The news came after a weekend of uproar after video clips surfaced appearing to show Yiannopoulos condoning pedophilia.
Yiannopoulos initially responded in a Facebook post titled "A note for idiots," in which he said, "I do not support pedophilia. Period. It is a vile and disgusting crime, perhaps the very worst. There are selectively edited videos doing the rounds, as part of a coordinated effort to discredit me from establishment Republicans, that suggest I am soft on the subject."
On Monday, the American Conservative Union, which sponsors the conference, released a statement saying Yiannopoulos' invitation had been rescinded. "We continue to believe that CPAC is a constructive forum for controversies and disagreements among conservatives, however there is no disagreement among our attendees on the evils of sexual abuse of children," ACU president Matt Schlapp said.
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In a follow-up Facebook post, Yiannopoulos chalked the whole thing up to misunderstanding and deceptive video editing: "I understand that my usual blend of British sarcasm, provocation, and gallows humor might have come across as flippancy, a lack of care for other victims or, worse, 'advocacy.' I deeply regret that."
President Trump is scheduled to speak at the conference Friday.
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