SAFETY FIRST

Texas A&M Cancels Planned White-Nationalist Rally

Cites “risks of threat to life” at former student’s “White Lives Matter” rally.

Authorities at Texas A&M University have called off a white-supremacist rally scheduled on campus next month, citing a “major security risk” following Saturday’s deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. Preston Wiginton, a former student, said he had taken inspiration from the Unite the Right demonstration in Charlottesville—where one woman was killed and 19 other people injured—for his White Lives Matter rally planned on the university’s campus for Sept. 11, with white supremacist Richard Spencer invited to speak at the event. But late Monday the university announced it was canceling the event over “concerns about the safety of its students, faculty, staff, and the public.” “Linking the tragedy of Charlottesville with the Texas A&M event creates a major security risk on our campus,” the university said. “Texas A&M’s support of the First Amendment and the freedom of speech cannot be questioned. However, in this case, circumstances and information relating to the event have changed and the risks of threat to life and safety compel us to cancel the event.”