University of Kentucky pro-Palestine protesters attempt to shut down Jewish speaker: 'Zionist bigot'
Pro-Palestine protesters attempted to shut down a TPUSA event featuring Ian Haworth at the University of Kentucky.
Protesters were threatened with arrest and escorted out of the room by police, but continued to bang on the door outside.
Pro-Palestine protesters recently attempted to shut down an event held by a conservative student group at the University of Kentucky.
The school’s chapter of Turning Point USA held a speaking event entitled “A Conversation About Israel” on February 27 featuring conservative Jewish writer and podcast host Ian Haworth.
Campus Reform obtained footage that shows protestors repeatedly interrupting Haworth’s speech
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The protesters repeatedly shouted over Haworth, including one instance where they pressed him to “define jihad.”
Haworth informed the protesters that he would be willing to have a question and answer period after his speech, but that “the heckler’s veto is not the First Amendment.”
Police eventually had to enter the event as protesters continued to shout down Haworth, loudly yelling “Free, Free Palestine!”
Campus Reform interviewed TPUSA at UK Vice President Hannah Zerhusen, who said that in addition to the shouting seen in the video, protestors also vandalized promotional materials for the event with red paint.
Video obtained exclusively by Campus Reform shows a protester outside the event space holding stacks of posters with red paint covering her hands.
Zerhusen said that university police responded and asked individuals without tickets to leave or face arrest for trespassing. The demonstrators were escorted out, but as the video shows, they continued to bang on the door in an attempt to further disrupt the event.
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Lex4Palestine, a group that advocates for the “total liberation and freedom of Palestine,” posted on Instagram following the incident, saying that “Zionism has no place at UK” and characterizing Haworth as a “Zionist bigot.”
It is unclear if the group is responsible for organizing the protest. However, Lex4Palestine did not respond to Campus Reform’s request for comment.
The University of Kentucky and the UK Police Department have also been contacted for comment.
