Posted on 04/15/2005 7:06:22 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952
Five adults charged with disrupting talk by conservative free-speech activist David Horowitz; juvenile released to parents.
By Miguel Liscano and Megan Arredondo
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, April 15, 2005
The protesters show up nearly every time David Horowitz sets foot on a college campus.
Last week at Purdue University in Indiana, a naked man streaked in front of Horowitz as he ended a speech. Two days later, he was hit with a pastry at Butler University in Indianapolis.
On Wednesday, University of Texas police arrested five protesters as Horowitz prepared to talk about free speech.
The five were charged with disrupting a meeting or procession, a Class B misdemeanor, and spent the night in jail before posting bail Thursday. Police also detained a juvenile but released her to her parents Wednesday.
Some of the protesters were members of Central Texas Anti-Racist Action and the International Socialist Organization. The five arrested were part of a group of at least 20 people holding signs with slogans such as "Freedom of expression = Freedom to dissent."
Horowitz, head of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, has written numerous books about civil rights and often speaks against what he says is the liberal domination of college faculty.
UT police Lt. Ron Stalder said the protesters, who were standing in the back of the room at the UT School of Law's Connally Center, were given a warning. Still, they continued with their protest.
Stalder said officers began arresting protesters about 15 minutes later.
"There was a lot of yelling from the group, and they apparently had air horns," Stalder said. "This seemed to be continual, even after the warning."
A few years ago, Horowitz made headlines when he attempted to buy advertisements in various college newspapers opposing the idea of government reparations to African Americans for slavery.
Horowitz says protests follow him at most speeches on college campuses, part of what he says is a generally hostile atmosphere toward conservatives on college campuses.
In a telephone interview Thursday, he said the Austin protest "was more pleasant than getting a pie shoved in my face, which happened at Butler."
Horowitz said he would not continue his speech Wednesday until the protesters stopped shouting, delaying the talk by about 20 minutes.
Horowitz "wanted people who were holding up signs to be arrested," Jerry Bellow of Central Texas Anti-Racist Action said as he stood outside the Travis County Jail on Wednesday night.
Stalder said officers explained to Horowitz that the protesters holding up signs were not breaking the law.
"What was an issue was the disruption," he said.
Stephen Gross, also of Central Texas Anti-Racist Action, said Horowitz supporters also were disruptive, "being loud and abusive and yelling as I was walking out."
Anastasia Breloff, president of the Texas Federalist Society, which sponsored the lecture, said student representatives tried several times to quell the crowd and then asked campus police to remove the protesters.
Brought to you by the party of tolerance.
NOT!!!
"IT'S NOT FASCISM WHEN WE DO IT!".-Central Texas Anti-Racist Action and the International Socialist Organization
Sounds like a 'SHUT UP HIPPY' alert.
Horowitz Speech Disrupted (And Reaction from Socialist Prof)
How childish these lefty loosers are. Pathetic.
Why don't they go to China and try these stunts? Maybe then they will get a clue of what kind of world they are asking for.
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