Berkeley police to be ‘highly visible,’ even after Coulter cancellation

Police at the University of California, Berkeley, say they will remain “highly visible” on campus despite conservative pundit Ann Coulter canceling plans for a Thursday speech there.

“[We’ll have a] very, very low tolerance for any violence,” Capt. Alex Yao of the University of California Police Department said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.

Yao said authorities have received intelligence that protest groups may turn up Thursday despite Coulter scrapping her planned speech.

{mosads}Berkeley campus police officers have also briefed their local and state counterparts, he added, putting them on call for potential violence.

Coulter announced earlier Wednesday that she would no longer appear at Berkeley after conservative groups sponsoring her event withdrew their support for her visit. Both Young America’s Foundation and the Berkeley College Republicans reportedly cited security fears surrounding the speech.

“There will be no speech,” she told Reuters. “I looked over my shoulder and my allies had joined the other team.”

“It’s a sad day for free speech,” Coulter told The New York Times. “Everyone who should believe in free speech fought against it or ran away.”

Officials at Berkeley initially canceled Coulter’s planned speech last week, citing fears that protesters might become violent.

The decision followed massive protests that erupted at the school in February, when the same GOP college group invited far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos to speak.

Coulter initially vowed to make her appearance, leading the school to reverse its decision and offer a day in May as a potential alternative date.

The conservative firebrand rejected that, calling it “not a suitable offer” as it fell during the school’s final exams period for students.

But she ultimately canceled the event just one day before she was set to appear.