Conservative speaker appears at University of Minnesota

Published 8:18 pm Tuesday, February 27, 2018

ST. PAUL — Conservative speaker Ben Shapiro appeared at the University of Minnesota for another in a series of talks aimed at spreading conservative ideas on campus.

Raised barricades and police vehicles blocked the streets leading up to a university student center as officers stood guard, checking bags while visitors poured into the venue Monday evening in St. Paul.

The speech attracted about 40 protesters who waved signs and chanted “racist speakers have to go” and “Ben Shapiro has got to go.”

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A university spokesman said police made no arrests after the event.

Young America’s Foundation, the event’s organizer, had threatened legal action against the university because of the speech’s placement away from the main campus.

No lawsuit had been filed as of Monday.