University of Cincinnati to allow white nationalist to speak

CLEVELAND (AP) — The University of Cincinnati says it will allow white nationalist leader Richard Spencer to speak on campus, while Ohio State University says it can't accommodate a rental request for a Nov. 15 speech but is considering alternatives.

UC president Neville Pinto said in an email the university is finalizing details of Spencer's visit and promises to make safety a priority. Pinto said in the universitywide email that Spencer's "ideology of hate and exclusion is antithetical" to the university's core values but that as a public institution it had to allow Spencer to speak because of his constitutional right to free speech.

"It is the power and promise of [our] diversity to change the world for the better that has the hate-filled so unsettled," Pinto said. "We ask for your patience, support, and understanding as we prepare for a trying time for our community."

The director of Ohio State's legal office, Christopher Culley, said in a letter that it couldn't accommodate a request for Spencer to speak on Nov. 15 "without substantial risk to public safety" but expects to decide if there are "viable" alternatives by the end of next week.

An attorney for Spencer's associates, Kyle Bristow, earlier wrote emails to UC and Ohio State saying they had until today to agree to make campus space available for Spencer to speak or face a lawsuit. Both universities were contacted last month about allowing Spencer to visit but had delayed making final decisions.

"I imagine similar reviews are not required of politically left-wing events on campus, and your 'review' is therefore unconstitutionally discriminatory in and of itself," Bristow wrote to the universities.

Bristow is the founder of a law firm dedicated to legal advocacy on behalf of a loose collection of white nationalists, white supremacists and anti-immigration populists called the alt-right. He did not immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment today.