


The president of an anti-abortion student activist organization blasted protesters at Virginia Commonwealth University after a lecture she was slated to give last week was disrupted by a protest that eventually turned violent.
The protesters could be seen on video chanting "Fascists, go home" and "Nazis, go home," disrupting the event with Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America. The disruption eventually turned violent, with multiple members of VCU's Students for Life chapter reporting injuries.
CHIP ROY LEADS CHARGE TO DEFUND DOJ PROSECUTIONS OF ANTI-ABORTION RIGHTS ACTIVISTSIn a series of blog posts last week following the event, Students for Life blamed the disruption and violence on antifa. On Wednesday, VCU police arrested two Richmond natives for their roles in disrupting the event. Natalie Hoskins III, 22, was charged with simple assault, and Anthony Marvin, 30, was charged with disorderly conduct. The university told WRIC that the two had no affiliation with VCU.
"I think people need to understand this is a serious threat in our country where we have terrorists who walk onto public campuses, who aren't even students there, who shut down civil discourse and dialogue," Hawkins said in an interview with Fox News. "How can our constitutional republic [and] how can our nation survive if we allow this to happen?"
We came to @VCU, a public university to speak about abortion and we were assaulted. VCU you should be ashamed of yourselves for allowing this and shutting down any freedom of thought or speech at your university. pic.twitter.com/UCp4LpHNmS
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) March 29, 2023
Hawkins was reportedly accompanied by private security at the event, who escorted her out of the lecture hall after the event turned violent. The group says Students for Life at VCU President Autumn Walser sustained minor injuries, as did Kevin Feliciano, a documentarian employed by Students for Life.
"What you saw happen at VCU was a dehumanization of just pro-lifers in general," Hawkins told Fox News. "They weren't even willing to have a discussion [or] have a conversation with me. They just wanted to call me a fascist and a Nazi."
In a statement obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, VCU said it was "disappointed" that the event with Hawkins was disrupted.
"VCU is committed to promoting a safe environment for our students, faculty, staff, and visitors so that the right to gather and speak freely is protected,” university spokesman Michael Porters said. “We must extend dignity and respect to others, especially those with whom we disagree.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINERThe incident is the latest in a string of disruptions of conservative speakers. Last month, a group of students and an administrator interrupted a lecture at Stanford Law School by Kyle Duncan, a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The incident drew national headlines and was a focal point of a congressional hearing last month on threats to freedom of speech on college campuses.