White supremacist Richard Spencer's first speech since Charlottesville sparks mass protests

A white supremacist is mobbed as he walks through a crowd of protesters outside the theatre
Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via AP
Tom Powell20 October 2017

Protesters chanting “Go home Nazis” drowned out an American white nationalist’s first major speech since the infamous Charlottesville rally.

Richard Spencer, the president of the National Policy Institute, a white supremacist think-tank, took to the stage at the University of Florida on Thursday after his supporters threatened to sue if he was not allowed to speak.

It was his first public event since the rally in Charlottesville in which one counter-protester was killed when a car drove into her.

But minutes after he began talking, more than half the people in the Philips Centre theatre stood and shouted: “F*** you Spencer”.

White nationalist Richard Spencer, who popularised the term "alt-right", gives his talk
Getty Images

Mr Spencer spent most of his speech trying to shout down protesters, according to reports.

He said at one point: “Do you not want to hear something, poor little babies, that might contradict something your professor told you?"

Protesters stand as Richard Spencer begins talking
Getty Images

Outside, hundreds more people protested with signs and anti-Nazi chants alongside hundreds of police officers there to prevent violence.

Three or four skirmishes occurred during after single Spencer supporters confronted the counter demonstrators, trying to speak and rile the crowds up.

One man, wearing a white shirt with swastikas drawn on, was punched and chased out of the area.

The Alachua County Sheriff said two people were arrested. Five people had minor injuries and were immediately treated by fire rescue teams, authorities said.

School officials cited the Charlottesville violence in rejecting an initial request from Spencer to speak at the university. They later relented on free speech grounds.

Florida's governor had declared a state of emergency for the event.

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