‘ESCALATING VIOLENCE’

Penn State Cancels Comedy Show Featuring Gavin McInnes After Campus Protests

The Proud Boys founder had been set to appear at an event called “Stand Back & Stand By,” alongside Alex Stein, a fellow right-wing provocateur.

Penn State University abruptly canceled a comedy event featuring right-wing provocateurs Gavin McInnes and Alex Stein on Monday night, attributing the move to “the threat of escalating violence.” It was unclear whether the school’s statement was directed at student demonstrators or law enforcement officials, more than a dozen of whom were stationed around the building hosting the show by early Monday evening, including eight Pennsylvania State Police troopers on horseback, according to the Centre Daily Times. Stein attended Monday’s protests, where he gleefully filmed a female student spitting on him, posting the clip to Twitter and calling her a “Penn State Cutie.” Reportedly also present were members of the Proud Boys, the far-right group designated a terrorist organization by the Canadian government last year after it was founded by McInnes. The Monday comedy event was titled “Stand Back & Stand By,” according to Insider, in reference to a remark made by former President Donald Trump in 2020. It was hosted by the university chapter of Uncensored America, a nominal free-speech organization. The school rejected calls by students to cancel the event earlier this month.