BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on Ann Coulter protesters in Berkeley (all times local):
12:50 p.m.
Berkeley officials say their handling of the protests over Ann Coulter’s canceled appearance was a success thanks to a massive police presence that ensured the city did not become a “fight club.”
Mayor Jesse Arreguin has told TV station KTVU on Friday that having a large police presence helped keep raucous protests from escalating into violence.
Hundreds of Coulter’s supporters gathered in a downtown Berkeley park Thursday to protest the cancellation of her speaking event at the University of California, Berkeley.
There were tense shouting matches but no major confrontations between the conservative commentator’s supporters and opponents, who held a nearby counter-rally.
Berkeley officials and police have been criticized in recent months for failing to stop violence at political rallies.
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12:15 a.m.
Ann Coulter did not turn up in Berkeley where hundreds held a raucous but largely peaceful demonstration in her absence and lamented what they called the latest blow to free speech in the home of America’s free speech movement.
The conservative pundit’s canceled appearance at the University of California, Berkeley drew hundreds of her supporters to a downtown park Thursday, many of them dressed in flak jackets, ballistic helmets adorned with pro-Donald Trump stickers and other protective gear in anticipation of violence.
But there were no major confrontations between Coulter’s supporters and opponents, largely because of a significant police presence and the fact that members of an extremist left-wing group did not show up to provoke clashes.
Coulter had publicly floated the idea of making a controversial visit to Berkeley despite the cancellation, but did not show.
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