![Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. / [Image by Tony Crider via Flickr, CC BY 2.0]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/8/15/660x290/b_502x220x82/unite-the-right-rally-in-charlottesville-virginia-image-by-tony-crider-via-flickr-cc-by-20_1519967.jpg "Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. / [Image by Tony Crider via Flickr, CC BY 2.0]")
Texas A&M was set to be one of the locations for a "Unite the Right" rally following the violence that broke out during one of their events in Charlottesville, Virginia on July 12. The violence resulted in the deaths of two police officers and one counter-protester who was killed by a self-proclaimed white nationalist who plowed his car into a crowd of people.
Nationalists fire back after cancellation
The university canceled the event last Monday fearing more threats of violence. There are similarities with Charlottesville in that the canceled event is also at a university.
The rally at A&M was set to have alt-right nationalist leader Richard Spencer appear as a follow up to his appearance at A&M last December. Spencer said that their First Amendment rights were being violated by blaming AntiFa for bringing violence to their event and therefore, canceling his right to speak.
Event's connection with Charlottesville
The rally this year would also have raised more controversy as it was set for 9/11, the seventeenth anniversary of the terror attacks on New York's Twin Towers. It was reported that one of the organizers for the rally, Preston Wiginton, connected the event with the violence in Charlottesville to the media which apparently led to the cancellation. The connection itself seemed to further spur more attention for the event on social media with people saying that some would be bringing their weapons.
The statement that contributed towards the cancellation was said to read "Today Charlottesville, Tomorrow Texas A&M".
New rules for holding controversial events at A&M
Spencer's appearance at the university last December was made possible when he was invited by a former student drop out named Preston Wiginton, who has been known for bringing controversial speakers to the campus.
The university had since changed their policy for arranging these kinds of events where the outside individual or group would need sponsorship from a group that was sanctioned by the university. Preston Wiginton said that they were looking at suing the school for canceling his event saying that the "First Amendment apparently didn't apply to white people." It's likely that under these new conditions, Wiginton will not be successful as no organization agreed to sponsor the group.
The new rules, however, would not restrict a group or an individual from inviting a speaker with polemic views anyway. This would, in turn, mean that rather than being held indoors as it was last year, people like Wiginton would simply hold it outdoors. Wiginton has said that this is exactly what he intends to do and that he will hold the event anyway. The rules were also added because of the security issues where it placed an undue burden on the school where they had to provide additional security. The new rules require that the group or individual provide their own security but this is unlikely since the city might very well already be planning to have police at the event. It's also likely in this case that Wiginton will take advantage of the opportunity of the exposure the cancellation receives and bring the rally to the campus that day.
