Ann Coulter Cancels Berkeley Speech

BERKELEY, CA — Ann Coulter has canceled her speech in Berkeley planned for Thursday. She Tweeted to followers, "I’m very sad about Berkeley's cancelation, but my sadness is greater than that. It is a dark day for free speech in America."

The University of California stated that they could not guarantee the safety of Coulter and students, leading the university to cancel her appearance. A lawsuit was filed over the cancellation and Coulter vowed to speak anyway.

However, Young America’s Foundation, the organization that invited Coulter, issued a statement late Tuesday withdrawing support. The statement read, in part:

"When Young America’s Foundation confirmed Ann Coulter would speak at UC-Berkeley as part of YAF’s nationwide campus lecture program on April 27, we assumed UC Berkeley would take all steps necessary to ensure the safety of students attending the educational event.

"In the meantime we discovered that the University of California Police Department at Berkeley has an official 'stand-down' policy for any situation that develops on campus as long as the situation doesn’t involve the imminent loss of life, allowing the leftist thugs who have terrorized Berkeley’s campus to do so without consequence."

Young America’s Foundation said that it would cancel the speech to protect student safety, but would continue its lawsuit against the university, writing, "YAF is pressing forward with its lawsuit against UC-Berkeley, and looks forward to the day when First Amendment freedoms are enjoyed by conservative students."

Coulter's followers expressed anger about the cancellation. One wrote, "Completely makes zero sense. Why does California time and time again go against EVERYTHING our constitution is about?" Another added, 'CA is becoming a "no go zone."'

However, detractors also chimed in with memes and this, "Yeah...they might have realized that giving a nutjob the spotlight wasn't really in their best interest. Wish more would mute your BS!"

Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images News / Getty Images