After a long back-and-forth with the University of California, Berkeley, over her slated April 27 speech, conservative commentator Ann Coulter gave her final answer on Wednesday, a day before she was originally scheduled to speak. "There will be no speech," Coulter wrote in an email to Reuters.
The hubbub over Coulter's speech started last week, when Berkeley announced it was cancelling the event because of security concerns amid threats of protest. The school had been forced in February to cancel alt-right media figure Milo Yiannopoulos' appearance after violent protests erupted hours before it was scheduled to begin. Despite the uncertainty, Coulter had maintained that, nevertheless, she would persist and give her critical speech about pro-immigration policies.
Coulter's insistence that she would go ahead and speak prompted Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks to reconsider. The school later re-invited Coulter to speak, though at a more "appropriate, protectable venue" and on a later date.
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But Coulter put the kibosh on giving a Berkeley speech at all Wednesday, which she declared a "sad day for free speech." Coulter credited her decision to the fact that Young America's Foundation, one of two groups helping Coulter in her legal battle to speak at Berkeley, had decided to step down due to concerns about risking "the safety of its staff or students."
"I looked over my shoulder and my allies had joined the other team," Coulter told Reuters. She also noted to The New York Times that it seemed as though "everyone who should believe in free speech fought against it or ran away."
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