Howard Student Protesters Blocked from Entering for Comey's Speech

A group of protesters disrupted former FBI Director James Comey’s speech during Howard University’s convocation ceremony on Friday, September 22. Another 100 or so students weren’t able to gain entry to the event and protested outside.

The group HUResist organized the protest. “We will not let the voice and opinions of white supremacy live on this campus,” the group tweeted before the protest.

The group also said Comey created the term Ferguson Effect, a theory that scrutiny of the police makes them less effective, “to victim blame Black people and the Black Lives Matter movement.”

“We deserve to be safe, respected, and heard,” the group tweeted. “(Howard University) chooses to stand for police violence and anti-Blackness before their students today.”

Some students also started a counter chant of “let him speak” during the protest.

Outside, the students who could not gain entry to the auditorium started their own protest, which included reciting the names of those killed by police.

This video shows the scene outside the auditorium. Credit: Twitter/Mike Brooks via Storyful