University of Florida bars white nationalist event

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The University of Florida today denied a request by a group headed by white nationalist Richard Spencer to rent space on the campus for a September event and his supporters vowed to file a court challenge.

UF President W. Kent Fuchs said in a statement the decision was made after assessing risks to the campus, community and law enforcement after last weekend's deadly violence during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Members of the National Policy Institute, which is headed by Spencer, had contacted the university about renting space on the campus in Gainesville on Sept. 12.

"I find the racist rhetoric of Richard Spencer and white nationalism repugnant and counter to everything the university and this nation stands for," Fuchs' statement said.

Fuchs said UF is dedicated to free speech and public discourse, but the First Amendment does not require risk of imminent violence to students.

Spencer did not return a text seeking comment.

But Cameron Padgett, a Georgia resident affiliated with Spencer's group who was coordinating the campus event in Gainesville, told The Associated Press he would be filing a legal challenge.