University Park, PA (WJAC) — Controversial right-wing speaker Alex Stein is returning to Penn State next week.
He was scheduled to speak at the university last year, but the university says the event was canceled due to the “threat of escalating violence.”
6 News spoke with the group that is hosting the event about their plan for this year.
Last year, Alex Stein was scheduled to speak alongside Gavin McInnes, who is the founder of the right-wing extremist group “The Proud Boys.”
Stein is the only headliner this year, but the flier says that he will be joined by a few surprise guests for what is labeled as a “politically provocative comedy night.”
Stein and McInnes’ appearance on campus last year led to chaos.
Protestors were pepper-sprayed, and a student was arrested. There were also local police and state troopers on horseback wearing heavy protection.
The university canceled the event less than an hour before it was supposed to start.
Since then, Penn State has stressed the importance of free speech at public universities.
Riley Gaines is another right-wing speaker who came to the university just last week.
Her speech on the HUB lawn was met with protest and led to two students being taken away by police.
Uncensored America is the group that is hosting the event next Monday.
Their founder says that they have been talking to the university since July to make sure that everything goes smoothly.
He also said that they decided to host the event in the Bryce Jordan Center because it is a “safer and more secure venue.”
“There’s going to be a lot of security at the event, as much as, if not more than last time, so we’ll see. We hope everything is safe and we’ve been working with the university the whole time and doing everything we can to give the university all the information and resources that we can provide and we’re hoping that they can do the same for us,” Uncensored America founder Sean Samanko.
In a statement, the university said that there will be security on site at the Bryce Jordan Center because of the expected crowd size and potential disruptions.
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