Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them: J. K. Rowling Behind the Scenes Movie Interview
British author J.K. Rowlings Twitter account has had a very specific theme as of late. A quick gander makes it pretty clear that she is not a fan of President Donald Trump or his policies.
And because of this, some Harry Potterfans have threatened to burn their wizarding merchandise if she doesnt stay out of politics.
As for her response? Lets just say that even the book-loving Hermione Granger would be proud.
Yet, not all fans are upset by her tweets. One actually came to Rowlings defense, tweeting to the author, Ill buy 2 copies of every book to make up for this and Ill donate the second copy to an interested reader. Takers?
This allowed the author to inject some humor into the situation:
This is not the first time folks have felt compelled to destroyHarry Potter books. The beloved childrens series has rattled preachers, priests and religious fundamentalists for years because they feel the books encourage witchcraft, which has led to the series frequent banning, and even organized book burnings.
So, a few fans tweeting to Rowling to let her know about their arsonist activities probably doesnt make her blood boil.
Especially since it seems like most of her fans are cool with her political views:
So, we suppose if you have issues with rowlings opinions and feel the need to tell her, go for it. Girlfriend is just going to hit you right back.
Aisay Nahi Chalay Ga 2 February 2017 | Bol TV | Special show on Bhensa Bloggers Pages
It"s time to get your binoculars at the ready, as February looks set to offer some stunning astronomical events to viewers around the world.
The coming month will feature meteor showers, eclipses of the sun and moon, and our lunar satellite posing with planets.
To catch a glimpse of the celestial events stargazers will need to be eagle eyed, but our calendar should help ensure nothing is missed.
Scroll down for video
The coming month will feature meteor showers, eclipses of the sun and moon (pictured), and our lunar satellite posing with planets
YOUR FEBRUARY CALENDAR
February 5 - Moon hides Aldebaran
February 8 - Alpha Centaurid meteor shower
February 10 - Lunar eclipse
February 15 - Moon joins Jupiter
February 20/21 - Moon meets Saturn
Feburary 26 - Solar eclipse
February 5 Moon hides Aldebaran
This weekend, the moon will slide very close to Aldebaran a bright orange star that lies 66 light-years away.
Lucky viewers will see the moon fully block out the star, making the orange object briefly vanish behind the dark, unlit portion of the moon before reappearing an hour later along its lit side.
The best places to see the phenomenon will be Central America, northern parts of South America, the Caribbean, southern Europe, North Africa, and western regions of the Middle East.
For specific occultation times in cities around the world, you can check this table from the International Occultation Timing Association.
This weekend, the moon will slide very close to Aldebaran (pictured bottom left) a bright orange star that lies 66 light-years away
February 8 Alpha Centaurid meteor shower
People across the Southern Hemisphere will be treated to a stunning meteor shower next week.
The Alpha Centaurid meteors will send shooting stars soaring over the skies in the predawn hours of the night.
It isn"t the most intense meteor shower, and the peak will see around five to 10 meteors an hour, radiating from the constellation Centaurus.
The meteor shower will send shooting stars soaring over the skies in the predawn hours of the night. Around five to 10 will be seen an hour (stock image)
Professor Martin Barstow, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, said: "A good meteor shower is a spectacular sight.
"If you have clear skies, there are few better and easier ways to get an impression of the dynamism of the universe we live in, and how the Earth is directly connected to events in the rest of the Solar System."
February 10 Lunar eclipse
On February 10, the full moon will climb above the eastern horizon before undergoing an eclipse as it enters a shadow cast by the Earth.
A lunar eclipse will appear on February 10, when the full moon will climb aboveeastern horizon before undergoing an eclipse as it enters a shadow cast by the Earth. Pictured is a lunar eclipse in 2007
The moon will turn a darker shade of silver during the eclipse.
In Europe, Africa and western Asia, the event will be seen as the moon is in the southern sky late at night, while for those in North, Central and South America, the best views will be from the east.
During the lunar eclipse, the moon will gradually turn a darker shade of silver, as the Earth"s shadow passes over it
For viewers in the UK, the shadow will first cast over the moon at 22:34GMT, and will end at 02:53 GMT.
And for those in New York, the event will begin at 17:34 ET, and end at 21:53 ET.
Jupiter"s prominence as the "morning star" will be hard to overlook on February 15.
The planet, which will appear as a bright star-like object, will align with the moon, as well as a blue-white star called Spica, which is part of the Virgo constellation.
For people in the US and Europe, Jupiter will rise roughly one hour before midnight, while for those in Australia the planet will appear in mid-to-late evening.
Jupiter will appear as a bright star-like object in line with moon, as well as a blue-white star called Spica, which is part of the Virgo constellation
February 20-21 Moon meets Saturn
As well as aligning with Jupiter this month, the moon will also meet with Saturn on February 20 and 21.
The cosmic duo will be easy to view in the pre-dawn hours, with Saturn appearing as a golden object next to the moon.
From mid-northern latitudes, Saturn will rise in the east about three hours before the sun, while in southern-latitudes it will rise around four hours before the sun.
Through a telescope you may even be able to spot the distinctive rings that circle the planet.
WHY ARE SOLAR ECLIPSES SO RARE?
They have often been seen as a sign of an impending apocalypse or the anger of the gods, but the real reason for the erratic occurrence of solar eclipses on Earth may finally have been solved.
Researchers recently unravelled the mystery of why our Moon has a strange orbital tilt which causes it to pass between our planet and the Sun to cause an eclipse only occasionally.
They claim the Moon was jostled into its current position through a series of close encounters with large lumps of debris left over from the formation of the inner planets 4.5 billion years ago.
The satellites of most other planets tend to orbit in a path that is in line with the parent planet"s equator.
If the Moon orbited our own planet in a similar way, we would likely experience monthly solar eclipses as it passes between the Earth and the sun.
However, the moon orbits at an angle of 5 degrees off the Earth"s own orbital plane around the sun and spins on an axis that is actually tilted towards our own planet.
This results in a far less regular solar eclipses.
February 26 Solar eclipse
With a new moon appearing on February 26, people in South America and Africa will be lucky enough to see the lunar disc pass directly in front of the sun.
The moon won"t completely cover the sun, and a small halo of light will remain visible.
On February 26, a new moon will appear and pass directly in front of the sun, treating people in South America and Africa to a rare solar eclipse
The eclipse will begin in Chile, before moving through Argentina, and onto the south Atlantic.
It will touch down on the coast of Angola, before ending near the border of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo at sunset.
But there"s good news for you if you miss this solar eclipse, as a second eclipse is forecast to occur over the US in August.
INDIANS EAT BEEF FOR THE FIRST TIME | PINKY & RUPESH
Kobe Buffalomeat walked out of a Lawrence High School classroom Wednesday, and some friends asked, "Do you know you"re famous?"
Twitter erupted Wednesday morning after Illinois State announced the signing of the 6-foot-7, 285-pound offensive tackle.
"BREAKING: Illinois State signs the best recruit name in college football history," ESPN"s Darren Rovell tweeted to his 1.68 million followers.
Buffalomeat prepared for a media blitz and a possible appearance on ABC"s "Jimmy Kimmel Live" when he joined three football teammates Wednesday in the Lawrence High cafeteria for a national signing day event.
"Here I am," he said at the end of his two-minute speech. "Go Redbirds."
Lawrence coach Dirk Wedd called it a "fairy tale" not the celebrity part, but the fact Buffalomeat had earned a scholarship to a school such as Illinois State.
"He couldn"t walk and chew bubble gum last summer," Wedd said. "Then he figured it out. By the end of the season, he was first-team all-conference."
Wedd surrendered his phone Wednesday morning for jury duty. By the time he got out, he had 125 text messages.
Buffalomeat spent part of Wednesday tweeting with Jordan Peele of the comedy duo Key & Peele.
"Love their show," he said. "Watch all the time. And I just got done with a producer from the Jimmy Kimmel show talking about a Skype call.
"It"s fun. I"ve enjoyed the day. It"s a lot, but I"m happy this is happening. Have to enjoy it while you can. It"s not going to last forever."
Buffalomeat"s friends and family say he can handle the attention.
Ray Buffalomeat said his son, named after Kobe Bryant, is roughly one-quarter Cheyenne/Arapaho, one-quarter Cherokee, one-quarter Choctaw and one-quarter white.
"Having the name Buffalomeat probably hasn"t always been easy," said his aunt, Penny Postoak Ferguson. "But it makes me proud for our heritage. I saw a lot of positive comments on ESPNU."
As for Kobe"s personality?
"He"s very laid-back and fun-loving," she said. "Very respectful."
Classmate Sydona Kegin has been friends with him since the third grade.
"I know it seems overwhelming," she said, "but I think he"s enjoying every second."
Illinois State, meanwhile, is happy to have him.
"We didn"t do this as a publicity stunt," coach Brock Spack said by telephone. "We did it because of his character. He"s a good student. He"s long and a very good athlete. He has big upside."
And a name football fans and perhaps Hollywood won"t soon forget.
"People say I have a good football name," Spack said. "So he and I have something in common."
With Jim Harbaugh at the helm, every day is an adventure in Ann arbor. but on national signing Day, the excitement and intrigue turns up a notch.
Michigan"s head coach once again proved his ability as a recruiter, securing two five-star commits and a ridiculous 19 four-star players.
MORE:National Signing Day 2017: Top 10 freshmen who can make immediate impact
The Wolverines picked up some notable last-minute additions to an already strong recruiting class, landing five-star defensive lineman Aubrey Solomon and also received a commitment from the No. 1 rated punter in the country Brad Robbins, although he was not listed on Michigan"s official roster of signees as of 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The biggest pickup in the class was five-star wide receiver Donovan People-Jones, who will try to add some explosiveness to an offense that lost Amara Darboh and Jabril Peppers, among others. Michigan also added quarterback Dylan McCaffrey, the brother of former Stanford running back and Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey, although he might be waiting in the wings for a season or two with the return of Wilton Speight.
Totalling 29 recruits, Michigan procured both its highest recruiting 247 Sports point total of any Wolverine class in the modern recruiting service era, as well as its highest-ever average rating on 247 of .9155.
With Harbaugh"s tenacity on the recruiting trail seemingly unwaning, those are both marks well within reach of matching in future classes.
Jordan Anthony, LB, Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy)Tarik Black, WR, Cheshire, Conn. (Cheshire Academy)Nico Collins, WR, Pinson, Ala. (Clay-Chalkville)Chuck Filiaga, OT, Aledo, Texas (Aledo)JaRaymond Hall, OT, Oak Park, Mich. (Oak Park)Brad Hawkins, WR, Camden, N.J. (Suffield Academy, Conn.)Joel Honigford, OT, Sugarcreek, Ohio (Garaway)James Hudson, DT, Toledo, Ohio (Central Catholic)Deron Irving-Bey, DE, Flint, Mich. (Southwestern Commencement Academy)Donovan Jeter, DE, Beaver Falls, Pa. (Beaver Falls)Jaylen Kelly-Powell, S, Detroit (Cass Technical)Corey Malone-Hatcher, DE, Saint Joseph, Mich. (St. Joseph)Oliver Martin, WR, Coralville, Iowa (West Senior)Ben Mason, Newtown, Conn. (Sandy Hook)Dylan McCaffrey, QB, Littleton, Colo. (Valor Christian)Philip Paea, DL, Berrien Spring, Mich. (Berrien Springs)Kwity Paye, DE, Warwick, R.I. (Bishop Hendricken)Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR, Detroit (Cass Technical)Josh Ross, LB, West Bloomfield, Mich. (St. Mary"s)Cesar Ruiz, C, Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy)O"Maury Samuels, RB, Los Lunas, N.M. (Los Lunas)Drew Singleton, LB, Union, N.J. (Parasmus Catholic)Benjamin St-Juste, CB, Montreal (Cegep du Vieux)Aubrey Solomon, DT, Leesburg, Ga. (Lee County)Andrew Stueber, OT, Darien, Conn. (Darien)Kurt Taylor, RB, Covington, Ga. (Grayson)Ambry Thomas, CB, Detroit (Detroit Martin Luther King)Luiji Vilain, DE, Alexandria, Va. (Episcopal)J"Marick Woods, S, Florence, Ala. (Florence)
RECAP - 2017 National Signing Day National Signing Day 2017: 10 Biggest Takeaways
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Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
National signing day 2017 effectively signaled the end of the recruiting year, and the flurry of commitments brought several important developments for college football"s future.
The Big Ten and SEC each ended the festivities with two of the country"s four top classes, and both conferences also featured a noteworthy third unit. For the SEC, though, that wasn"t a good thing.
While one Pac-12 program emerged as the clear-cut NSD winner, another team in the conference quietly signed an excellent haul. That usually doesn"t happen in this era of recruiting, but it"s typically a positive when a class is wrapped up before signing day.
Although the same applied to the sport"s reigning champions, Clemson still grabbed plenty of attention on NSD shows. The difference was the absence of new commitments for the Tigers. Still, there were a handful of significant announcements by top-rated players.
The Trenches Take Center Stage
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Marvin Wilson /Credit: Scout
Skill positions provide the flash and jaw-dropping highlight reels, but "games are won in the trenches" still rings true today.On signing day, six of the eight 5-stars who announced their decision were offensive or defensive linemen.
The prized prospect was Marvin Wilson, the nation"s No. 1 defensive tackle and Scout"s highest-rated remaining talent entering NSD. He chose Florida State over LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma and South Florida.
Tedarrell Slaton(OG) kicked off the morning with a pledge to Florida.Aubrey Solomon(DT), who had initially committed to Michigan earlier in the cycle before backing off, returned to the Wolverines.
USC made the biggest splash, landingAustin Jackson(OT) andJay Tufele(DT) literally in a matter of minutes during the noon ET hour. The Trojans added another 5-star, but we"ll get to that later.
Rounding out the 5-star group of linemen wasK"Lavon Chaisson, a defensive end who is headed to LSU.
Tough Times in Oxford
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Scout Team Ranking: 30
Ole Miss finished each of the last four cycles in the top 20 of Scout"s team rankings. That streak ended in unceremonious fashion.
Largely because of an NCAA investigation that has lingered over the program, the Rebels mustered just five 4-stars in a middling 23-man group. The unit ranked 11th in the SEC.
"This recruiting class: It was a penalty," head coach Hugh Freeze said, according to David Brandt of the Associated Press.
By no means is Ole Miss in dire straits, but the Rebels cannot afford another mediocre year on the trail. Otherwise, their three-year stay as part of the SEC West conversation will be short-lived.
Stanford Quietly Seals Top-Heavy Class
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Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Scout Team Ranking: 24
Ever since Jim Harbaugh took over in 2007, Stanford has typically signed respectable classes that lacked a perceived star. The program"s development prowess then takes over.
But the 2017 cycle is a bit different.
The Cardinal secured three 5-stars inDavis Mills(QB), Foster Sarell(OT) and Walker Little(OT), also adding Colby Parkinsonthe nation"s No. 1 tight end. Additionally, Connor Wedington(ATH), Osiris St. Brown(WR) and Paulson Adebo(ATH) are top-125 talents.
Stanford wrapped up its 14-man class before signing day, so David Shaw and Co. received little to zero NSD attention. But don"t mistake the lack of volume for an absence of a talent. This was an impressive nationwide haul for the Cardinal.
Clemson"s Reload Comes in Small Doses
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Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Scout Team Ranking: 26
Clemson had basically wrapped up its class before national signing day arrived. A 14-man group doesn"t seem particularly impressive at first glance, especially since the Tigers are less than a month removed from winning a national championship.
That shouldn"t come as a surprise, however, because Clemson doesn"t have the room for a massive haul. The 2017 roster will be loaded with sophomores and juniors.
And there"s no reason to worry about the size, either. The Tigers nabbed 11 4-star prospects with a promising QB-WR connection in Hunter Johnson and Tee Higgins. The top defensive signees were A.J. Terrell (S), Logan Rudolph (ATH/LB) and Justin Foster (OLB).
While the 2018 cycle will have a similar look in terms of volume, the impending championship boost should bring even higher-rated talents to Clemson. Is there a dynasty looming?
Maryland Signs Volume, No. 12 Class
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Scout Team Ranking: 12
DJ Durkin took on a rebuild at Maryland. But if his first full-year recruiting class was any indication, the arrow is pointing up.
Considering the sheer volume of the 28-man unit, it was going to hold a respectable ranking. However, Durkin added serious talent with 11 4-stars, highlighted by local running back Anthony McFarland.
The Terps had a clear focus on bolstering the offense, evidenced by their signing of six receivers and four running backs. Tahj Capehartwasthe highest-rated wideout. Other notable 4-star additions include Marcus Minor (OG), Deon Jones (CB), Markquese Bell (S) and Kasim Hill (QB).
Maryland must compete with Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State on an annual basis in the Big Ten East Division, so this was an excellent step for Durkin.
USC Surges Seven Spots to No. 7
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Scout Team Ranking: 5
Did your favorite team have a good signing day? Congratulations! I"m happy for you. However, USC enjoyed a better one.
The Trojans opened Wednesday with 19 total commits, including one 5-star and 10 4-stars. By the end of the festivities, they"d reeled in a trio of 5-stars and three more 4-stars for the class.
Levi Jones (OLB) pledged to USC during breakfast on the East Coast, then Jackson and Tufele owned the lunch hour. Four-star TE Josh Falo provided a midday snack for the Trojans before 5-star WR Joseph Lewis and 4-star ATHGreg Johnsoncapped the eight-hour NSD feast.
Put simply, Clay Helton and the coaching staff found themselves in blue-chip heaven on Wednesday.
Thanks to a nine-game winning streak to close the 2016 campaign and this top-five class, get ready for major USC hype this offseason.
Ohio State Loads Up on Elite Talent
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Scout Team Ranking: 4
Ohio State grabbed early headlines for its 2017 class and deservedly so. The finish was as impressive as anticipated, since the Buckeyes inked six 5-stars and 13 top-125 high school prospects.
Urban Meyer and Co. reeled in an absurd amount of talent for the secondary, headlined by a pair of 5-stars in Jeffrey Okudah and former Alabama signeeKendall Sheffield. The staff also added 4-stars Shaun Wade, Isaiah Pryor, Amir Riep and Marcus Williamson.
The other 5-stars areChase Young(DE), Baron Browning(LB),Wyatt Davis(OG) and Tate Martell (QB). Haskell Garrett (DT), Josh Myers (OG), Trevon Grimes (WR) and J.K. Dobbins (ATH) round out the top-125 talents, and the Buckeyes have four more 4-stars.
Just two teams boasted a class with an average of 4-star players, and Ohio State sported an unbelievable 4.19 mark.
Even though the 2016 team ended the season in disappointing fashion, the future is only getting brighter in Columbus.
Excitement Builds at Georgia
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Michael Chang/Getty Images
Scout Team Ranking: 2
Is there any way Georgia fans aren"t thrilled at the success Kirby Smart and Co. achieved in this cycle? Sure, the Dawgs missed on some highly rated players, but that happens to every school.
This haul is incredible.
Of the 25 high school prospects, 20 are ranked in the top 255 nationally, two more are 4-stars and each of the three 3-stars barely missed the 4-star cutoff. Georgia signed the No. 5 JUCO player, too.
The Bulldogs also completely dominated in-state recruiting, keeping 5-stars DeAngelo Gibbs (ATH),Jake Fromm(QB) and Richard LeCounte (S) while collecting signatures from 14 of the 21 best prospects. For good measure, they plucked two of the premier recruits from the Northeast with 4-stars D"Andre Swift(RB) and Isaiah Wilson (OT).
Georgia hasn"t won the SEC East since 2012. That"s bad enough even before mentioning the 11-year conference championship drought. But after this class, there"s no excuse for Smart to not have a division crown by the end of 2018.
Harbaugh"s Reload Takes a Big Depth Step
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Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Scout Team Ranking: 3
Few teams will return less production in 2017 than Michigan, which lost a little bit of everything from its roster. It shouldn"t be a surprise the recruiting class reflects that.
The only position without a 4-star recruit is offensive guard, and the Wolverines picked up four 4-star linemen anyway.
And in addition to signing seven of the top 10 in-state prospectsled by 5-star and No. 1 receiver Donovan Peoples-JonesHarbaugh and the staff reached out to familiar places for some studs.
Four-star LB Drew Singleton is from Paramus Catholic, the alma mater of Jabrill Peppers and Rashan Gary as well as the former employer of position coach Chris Partridge. Four-star CCesar Ruizand 4-star LB Jordan Anthony are from IMG Academy, where the Wolverines held a week of spring practice in 2016.
Plus, picking up Solomon and 4-star WR Nico Collins provided the program"s signing day boost.
Although the upcoming season may bring a slight dip in overall record, Michigan improved its depth of talent at every position. This recruiting class should be an integral part of the Wolverines avoiding glaring future needs under Harbaugh.
Alabama"s Reign Continues
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Don Juan Moore/Getty Images
Scout Team Ranking: 1
What"s new, right?
For the seventh straight year, Alabama finished the recruiting cycle atop the 247Sports composite rankings. Scout considered the class No. 1 nationally for the third time in four years.
Najee Harris, the top-rated prospect in the country, leads the group of six 5-star prospects. Alex Leatherwood (OT), Dylan Moses (ILB), Devonta Smith (WR),VanDarius Cowan (OLB) and Isaiah Buggs (JUCO DE) complete the ridiculous bunch.
But the Tide should be equally excited about two 4-stars.Hawaiian quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is heralded as a legitimate competitor to incumbent starter Jalen Hurts, and Jerry Jeudy is an elite all-around receiver who should play immediately.
In all, the Crimson Tide signed 19 prospects ranked in the top 175 as well as two premier JUCO talents. That doesn"t even include defensive end Jarez Parks, who according to Andrew Bone of Rivals is expected to grayshirt in 2017.
All recruiting information viaScout. Stats from cfbstats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.
BERKELEY UC Berkeley, the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement, was rocked Wednesday night by a violent demonstration seeking to stop right-wing lightning rod Milo Yiannopoulos from delivering a talk there.
The event was called off at 6:15 p.m. as more than 1,500 people gathered outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union to protest. At one point, a splinter group wearing all black clothing and clutching shields made out of cardboard launched fireworks at police on a second-floor balcony. Metal barricades set around the building also were thrown into windows and a light generator was knocked down and set ablaze.
Police dressed in riot gear responded with orders to disperse and fired tear gas into the crowd. Most demonstrators cleared the plaza around 8:30 p.m. and began marching down Telegaph Avenue toward Bancroft Way. A few members of the universitys marching band joined the crowd, as they energized protesters celebrating the canceled event. Protesters began marching back to campus around 9:30 p.m.
As of 9:30 p.m., police received reports of protesters vandalizing businesses in the 2000 block ofCenter Street. Some demonstrators set fires to banks in the area of Center Street and Shattuck Avenue. BART trains were not stopping at downtown Berkeley station.
Police received unconfirmed reports of a hit-and-run collision involving a white BMW at the intersection of Durant and Telegraph avenues. No victims had been found as of 8:40 p.m.
University police reported at least three people were injured from fights in the area. AYiannopoulos fan took offense at a burning Trump hat, which was placed on top of a pole, and a few punches were thrown between him and a protester.
UC Berkeley police Chief Margo Bennett estimated that at least 1,500 protesters attended the demonstration. She believes that at least 100 protesters were agitators, and that none of the masked demonstrators were students.
It was a very practiced group that came in, Bennett said.
A smaller group of about a dozenprotesters wearing all black with bandanas around their faces held up makeshift shields made out of cardboard as theytossed fireworks at police on a second-floor balcony.
Some protesters yelled over a microphone in unison: No Trump. No KKK. No fascist USA. After the event was canceled, many revelers danced to loud music while ticket-holders to the event watched the chaos in disapproval.
Aheavy police presence surrounded the event venue before it was shut down. The university issued a shelter in place around 6:22 p.m. Police advised the public to avoid Sproul Plaza in the southern area of campus, where authorities shut off lights in the area. The Alameda County sheriffs deputies and Berkeley police officers responded to the university for crowd control.
Tensions rose shortly after a group of protesters wearing bandanas set fire to wood pallets and debris near a barricade. Protesters threw fireworks in the direction of police officers, who wore full riot gear and returned fire with tear gas. A light generator was knocked down and set on fireas demonstrators surrounded the blaze with their signs in the air.
UC Berkeley graduate studentPike Long was glad the event was eventually shut down, but she believes university administrators should have canceled itsooner.
Im very happy we shut the event down and didnt give this fascist a platform, Long said. On the other hand, I am frustrated with the escalation of setting things on fire because ultimately I think its counterproductive to our movement.
David Pedersen, a student fromUniversity of San Francisco, planned on attending the sold-out event with a group of classmates. He watched the revelers, who were mostly peaceful with the exception of some masked protesters.
Kids from this school, smashing their own building, he said disapprovingly. They dont want to talk politically. They just want violence. No free speech.
His classmate Anthony, who would not give his last name, said its like Lord of the Flies out here.
The controversial Yiannopoulos responded to the protesters on Facebook.
One thing we do know for sure: the Left is absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it, he wrote.
Advertised on Eventbrite as The Dangerous f****t Tour, the self-proclaimed gay conservatives traveling show also included stops at UC Davis and UCLA. A British national, Yiannopoulos writes for the right-wing Breitbart news.
part of yiannopoulosshtick is to antagonize people on the left while thrilling his right-wing followers with expressionsof misogyny, racism and hostility toward Islam, and the brazenness of his disdain for political correctness. His recent actions include publicly outing a transgender student activist at a University of Wisconsin event in December.
Earlier last month, protests caused cancellation of scheduled speeches at UC Davis by Yiannopoulos and former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, sponsored by the UC Davis College Republicans, whose UC Berkeley counterparts were sponsoring Wednesdays event at Cal.
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin spoke out against the event on Twitter.
Using speech to silence marginalized communities and promote bigotry is unacceptable, he wrote. Hate speech isnt welcome in our community.
But UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, in a Jan. 26 statement, resisted calls to cancel Wednesdays event, even ashe denounced Yiannopoulos as a troll and provocateur who uses odious behavior in part to entertain, but also to deflect any serious engagement with ideas.
He has been widely and rightly condemned for engaging in hate speech directed at a wide range of groups and individuals,as well as for disparaging and ridiculing individual audience members, particularly members of the LGBTQ community, Dirks added.
Since the announcement of Mr. Yiannopouloss visit, we have received many requests that we ban him from campus and cancel the event, Dirks said in the statement. However, Consistent with the dictates of the First Amendment as uniformly and decisively interpreted by the courts, the university cannot censor or prohibit events, he added.
Yiannopoulos supporters say leftist students attempts to silence him demonstrate their hostility to freedom of speech and closed-mindedness to differing opinions. Detractors who call for Yiannopoulos to be barred from speaking counter that his statements conjure up hate and that shutting him down is a matter of protecting the safety of his targets.
