The University of California at Berkeley‘s cancellation of a far-right commentator’s talk amid violent protests prompted a tweeted warning from President Donald Trump to allow free speech or perhaps risk losing federal funding.
But experts say the financial aid that flows to students and the grants awarded researchers don’t come with a free speech condition. And even if they did, it would be hard to find fault with Berkeley.
Terry Hartle of the American Council on Education says that nothing under current law would enable the federal government to shut off funding based on allegations of free speech violations.
READ MORE: Donald Trump threatens to revoke UC Berkeley’s federal funding after violent protest
Trump’s Thursday tweet followed a chaotic night on the California campus. Protesters broke windows and set fires in protest of a scheduled appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos.
The protests started peacefully around 4 p.m. As night fell, the crowd swelled to more than 1,500, police estimated, and “more than 100 armed individuals clad in ninja-like uniforms who utilized paramilitary tactics” infiltrated the crowd and began hurling commercial grade fireworks, Molotov cocktails, rocks and other objects at police, Mogulof said.
Berkeley was the last stop on Yiannopoulus’ college tour, which had sparked protests and sporadic violence around the country. He is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and a self-proclaimed internet troll whose comments have been criticized as racist, misogynist and anti-Muslim.
The scenes at Berkeley gained worldwide attention not just because of the mayhem but because of where it took place. UC Berkeley is the birthplace of the free-speech movement and has been known for more than a half-century as a bastion of tolerance.