Protests Rage Around Richard Spencer’s Michigan State Appearance

It’s been far from a calm year at Michigan State University.

The East Lansing, MI, has weathered the turmoil of the Larry Nassar scandal, the resignation of its president and yesterday, scuffles and arrests as at least 24 people were taking into custody after protestors and police engaged at speech by white nationalist Richard Spencer.

Spencer, whose speeches usually contain anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant and racist vitriol, is the same man whose scheduled appearance at the University of Virginia resulted in the death of a protestor and sparked nationwide outrage.

Students were away from campus for spring break, but some remained to protest, along with a group who marched toward police in riot gear before the event began.

The Detroit Free Press reports:

Shortly after 4 p.m., fights and arrests broke out at the tense scene, as a small group of Spencer supporters showed up and protesters tried to drive them back. Bottles and rocks were thrown.

Amid the chaos, Spencer’s speech was pushed back from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Then, just a few minutes before the new start time, protesters effectively sealed off the venue. A few Spencer supporters turned around instead of trying to get in.

Only about 25 people were reported to be in the audience by the time the speech, which lasted about 30 minutes, finally got underway.

One MSU student who remained on campus told the school newspaper, The State News, that “If it was during the school year, we would’ve had, like, probably a thousand people.”