Update 6:51 p.m. (AP) - A University of California, Berkeley official says a talk by a polarizing Breitbart News editor at the university has been canceled as protesters outside the building where the speech was to have taken place threw smoke bombs and set a fire.
UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulos says officials are advising the campus to shelter in place and to stay away from the student union building, where Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak.
A group of protesters dressed in black and some in hooded sweatshirts broke windows, threw smoke bombs and flares at a building and set a large bonfire outside the building.
Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators carrying signs that read "Hate Speech Is Not Free Speech" had been protesting for hours before the event.
Update 6:30 p.m. -- (AP) A group of protesters is throwing smoke bombs and flares to UC Berkeley's student union building where polarizing Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos is scheduled to speak Wednesday evening.
Some of the protesters are pulling away metal barricades as police in riot gear guard the building.
Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators carrying signs that read "Hate Speech Is Not Free Speech" had been protesting for hours before the event.
A small group dressed in black and some in hooded sweatshirts showed up and began throwing flares and other objects at the building.
The 32-year-old right wing provocateur is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and a self-proclaimed internet troll whose comments have been criticized as racist, misogynist, anti-Muslim and white supremacist.
His visit to Berkeley is sponsored by the campus Republican club.
(AP) - The University of California at Berkeley is bracing for major protests against Milo Yiannopoulos, a polarizing Breitbart News editor, on the last stop of a tour aimed at defying what he calls an epidemic of political correctness on college campuses.
Tight security is planned at Berkeley for the Wednesday evening event.
Several student groups have called for protests and pledged to shut down the talk.
The 32-year-old right wing provocateur is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and a self-proclaimed internet troll whose comments have been criticized as racist, misogynist, anti-Muslim and white supremacist.
His visit to Berkeley is sponsored by the campus Republican club.
Several of Yiannopoulous' talks at other campuses have been canceled due to protests or security concerns.
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