Heavy Police Response for Spencer Speech at University of Florida

White nationalist Richard Spencer’s speech at the University of Florida in Gainesville drew a heavy police presence on Thursday, October 19.

Students and others mobilized for a protest that drew hundreds and marched to where Spencer was to speak later in the afternoon. Multiple police agencies, including state troopers, were in the area after Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for Spencer’s speech earlier this week.

University of Florida officials initially rejected Spencer’s application to hold a private speech on campus for September, citing the event would have been too soon after the events in Charlottesville. University officials, though, said they could not deny the second application because it is a public institution.

This video show a convoy of police vehicles heading to the campus. The uploader, though, could not confirm if this was a police escort for Spencer. Credit: Instagram/Emily Stanford via Storyful