Hundreds of University of Florida students and professors say they will take part in a march later this month, aimed at pressuring administrators not to allow a white supremacist to speak on campus in September.
The “No Nazis at UF” march at 6 p.m. on August 25th will be held at the Performing Arts Center on Hill Road, the same day as Richard Spencer’s possible event inside that venue.Spencer’s National Policy Institute has asked the university about reserving space in the center.
UF President Kent Fuchs has responded to students and staff that while he is disgusted by Spencer’s message, his hands are tied, and he must allow the event just as any third party renter can reserve space on campus, regardless of message.
Fuchs says that local, state, and federal law enforcement are aware of the event and planning to be there to keep the peace and quell any violence that breaks out.Officials confirm that social media chatter is already underway, with profanity and threats being made to the point of referring to guns and Florida’s stand your ground law.
Word of Spencer’s visit comes a day after a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, where one counter-protester was killed by a speeding car driven by a known neo-Nazi.