One arrested, but school says Investigations are ongoing and others may face charges.
In a statement to the campus community, Penn State President Neely Bendupdy described McGinnis and Alex Stein, who will also appear, as “provocateurs known for their hateful views and rhetoric.” .
Proud Boys is a far-right extremist group with a history of violence known for instigating street fights with perceived enemies, including those in the anti-fascist or anti-fascist movement. Federal investigators accused the leaders of the Proud Boys of conspiring to use force against President Biden’s swearing-in, culminating on Jan. 1. On June 6, 2021, the attack on the Capitol.
McGinnis stepped down from the Proud Boys role in 2018. But Casi Miller, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), said he continues to promote the group and “continues to be closely involved in their internal affairs.”
Daryle Lamont Jenkins, a veteran anti-fascist organizer who leads the hate-tracking group One People’s Project, attended the protest and said there was no aggression from the demonstrators.
A student protest group said members of the hate group sprayed people in the crowd with a chemical irritant. McIness fought back, putting the blame on the opponent.
Monday’s event will be hosted by Uncensored America, an organization founded in 2020 by a Penn State student with a clear mission to get “young Americans to fight for free speech to make American culture free and fun again.” It invited Stein, known by the group as a comedian and professional troll, and McGinnis, known as a comedian and political commentator, to a comedy show called “Stand Back & Stand By” — Echoing the words Donald Trump used, addressing the proud boys, during the 2020 presidential debate.
“I’m obviously under scrutiny. Alex Stein is obviously under scrutiny,” McGinnis said Tuesday. “The room is small. Fifty people can probably fit in it. Fifty people were refused jokes because of media reports that the Proud Boys were racist, sexist, whatever they were pushing,” he said, insisting the group was A “patriotic male drinking club”.
Uncensored America said in a statement that the group has always encouraged people to remain peaceful and condemned all acts of violence. “Sadly, attendees were intimidated by the violent protests and were unable to safely enter the venue,” the group said.
Describing him as a racist or a fascist is “the furthest thing from the truth,” Stein said.
The SPLC’s Miller said the incident was part of a broader far-right extremism playbook aimed at using universities as venues to legitimize and normalize harmful ideas. She said the violence followed McGinnis’ previous public appearances and wrote a letter to Penn State officials earlier this month expressing her concerns.
In a statement to the campus community, Bendupdy said Stein and McGinnis “will celebrate a victory that was canceled when, in effect, they contributed to the violence that undermined their ability to speak.” She said the counter-protesters It might also be “celebrating their victory in forcing the university to cancel the event,” she said, “and actually raising the profile of the cause they were against.”
Asked if he thought cancelling the event was a “victory,” McGinnis said no, adding, “Antifa won this round.”
The event drew opposition in its first few weeks. A petition calling on the university to stop the incident, which has been dubbed “platform fascists and propaganda hateful, worthless disinformation,” gained more than 3,200 digital signatures.
An anonymous group opposing the campaign sent a mass email to Penn State students, faculty and staff on Friday, said Wyatt DuBois, a university spokesman. The message encouraged a direct confrontation with the two speakers, he said. As a result, officials urged the campus community to avoid the incident.
On Monday, hundreds of students, staff and others gathered at another location on campus for an anti-programming event that emphasized solidarity. But many others gathered to protest against Stan and McGinnis.
WATCH: Tensions rose between police and protesters outside Thomas Building at an event hosted by uncensored US https://t.co/Ok4fOpcGFq Monday night
— Daily Collegiate (@DailyCollegian) October 25, 2022
According to Bendapdi, Stein participated in the peaceful protests, leading to an escalation of tensions.Stein criticized the cancellation on social media and later tweeted a video He mocked and taunted angry protesters, one of whom spat at him.
A man dressed in all black started waving a can before spraying the crowd with chemical irritants, According to the video Ford Fischer from News2Share. In the clip, police did not intervene.
“Some brave people were pepper-sprayed by members of a hate group enabled by PSU administrators to terrorize our campus,” student body Defense and Solidarity Student Council said in an Instagram post. The group was also critical of the police response.
Gary King, a professor of biobehavioral health, watched the protests.
“I’m excited to see Penn State students stand up for something other than a touchdown,” King said, “and take the lead in getting the government to follow through.”
Maria Luisa Paul and Spencer Xu contributed to this report.