Controversial figure Milo Yiannopoulos to give anti-Mexico speech at UCLA

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, shown in undated file image, has attracted protests at many of his speeches, like this one in Berkeley on Sept. 24, 2017.
Conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, shown in undated file image, has attracted protests at many of his speeches, like this one in Berkeley on Sept. 24, 2017.
KABC-KABC

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Controversial conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos is scheduled to speak at UCLA later this month on the topic "10 Things I Hate About Mexico."

Yiannopoulos was invited to speak on campus by the school's Bruin Republicans.

The group wrote in a Facebook post explaining the event: "The debate on immigration often only focuses on the impact immigration has on America, but ignores the root causes of why people are leaving Mexico to come here. Does Mexico do enough for its people?"

Tickets for the Feb. 26 event are priced at $30 for general admission and $50 for VIP seating.

Yiannopoulos is a former Breitbart editor from Great Britain who is known for outspoken views including criticisms of feminism, Islam and other subjects.

He is also known for attracting substantial and sometimes violent protests at his college speaking events.

Some of his events in the past, including speeches planned last year at UCLA and Berkeley, had to be canceled because of security concerns over expected protests.

One violent protest ahead of his planned speech at Berkeley in January 2017 caused about $100,000 in damage to the campus after demonstrators set fires, smashed windows and threw rocks at police.

Seven protesters were arrested outside a speech he gave at Cal State Fullerton in October 2017.

And his scheduled appearance last year at UCLA at the invitation of the Bruin Republicans was also canceled after the group said it could not accommodate his lengthy list of requirements for the appearance.