Megyn Kelly brought conservative writer Ben Shapiro onto The Kelly File Monday night to share his horrifying experience at the lefty California State University campus in Los Angeles, where a massive protest broke out in response to his speaking engagement.
Shapiro said the trouble started even before he set foot on the campus. “[W]ell the president of the university attempted to cancel the speech. And I told him to screw himself, I was coming anyway because that was a violation of free speech rights.”
The scene was like something out of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.
“I started getting messages on text and Twitter, there was violence going down, that there was a huge crowd. By the time we got there, there were helicopters, cops everywhere, every single entrance and exit, except for one, had been barricaded and blocked by the students.” Shapiro explained.
The situation was out of control with no help from law enforcement. “The police were doing nothing to actually move the students and the protesters, so that the people who wanted to get in and hear could get in.”
Those who wanted to listen to Shapiro speak had to sneak in the back door, a few at a time, with a police escort for their safety. The threat to Shapiro and to the listeners was very real. Shapiro was told by a police officer “there could actually be a riot” and they could not guarantee their safety.
As audience members were making their way into the auditorium Shapiro said to the crowd:
“Folks, if you're watching on the live stream the waves of the students you see entering right now are being sneaked in. Because in America in 2016 you have to use the backdoor if you want to participate in free speech. You get to block the front door if you're a member of the left.”
With their whole media industry revolving around the First Amendment's protections of speech and press, one 
would think the national news media would be flocking to cover the violation of such treasured rights, but the exact opposite is true. Only Fox News and Fox Business have reported about the assault the First Amendment came under at the conservative’s speaking engagement. Instead of covering the violent attempt to shut down the free speech of a conservative commentator the liberal media decided to focus on Donald Trump’s plan for the First Amendment.
On Friday Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said that if he is elected president he would “open up our libel laws” so he can more easily sue news organizations that “write purposely negative and horrible and false articles” about him. The left-wing media is angry, and rightly so, over Trump’s vision for libel laws, but changes to those laws could not be done without Congress and are unlikely to withstand scrutiny in the courts thanks to the First Amendment and free-speech case law.
When it comes to the First Amendment, the liberal media pulls out all the stops to defend their right to free speech and free expression. It’s in sharp contrast to the coverage they give to the infringement of the free speech rights of conservatives and people on the right, especially when it’s their side that is doing the infringing.
Transcript below:
Fox News
The Kelly File
February 29, 2016
9:45:28 – 9:49:27 PM Eastern[Video of protesters]
[Cut to Megyn Kelly]
MEGYN KELLY: That was the crowd that greeted conservative writer Ben Shapiro as he was attempting to give a speech at the Los Angeles campus of California State University. Inside the lecture hall where he had been invited, it went like this, watch.
[Cuts to streamed video from the event]
BEN SHAPIRO: Folks, if you're watching on the live stream the waves of the students you see entering right now are being sneaked in. Because in America in 2016 you have to use the back door if you want to participate in free speech. You get to block the front door if you're a member of the left.
[Video cuts ahead]
SHAPIRO: And this is how it's written. You -- [Fire alarm goes off] And there it is, gang. [Boos] Guess what. You know what, they're not going to stop us. [Cheers]
[Cuts back to the studio]
KELLY: Ben Shapiro is editor in chief at dailywire.com. Ben, great to see you. They invited you there, this young group and the university was not happy about it. Initially tried to stop it. One professor in particular was ripping down the fliers, threatening students for posting them, but you showed up. Take it from there.
SHAPIRO: Yeah, well the president of the university attempted to cancel the speech. And I told him to screw himself, I was coming anyway because that was a violation of free speech rights.
About an hour and half before I was scheduled to come to campus, I didn't know if they were going to try to arrest me or something. He backed down, he said “we'll hold the event, make sure there's enough security it's safe.”
I started getting messages on text and Twitter, there was violence going down, that there was a huge
crowd. By the time we got there, there were helicopters, cops everywhere, every single entrance and exit, except for one, had been barricaded and blocked by the students. The police were doing nothing to actually move the students and the protesters, so that the people who wanted to get in and hear could get in.
By the time I got in, I had to be escorted in, not only by my own security, but by an armed coterie of uniformed police officers and they were sneaking all of the students in. Four at a time through a back door the protesters hadn't yet discovered. So over the course of the speech people were coming in.—
KELLY: They, they— So obviously this is a public university, they don't understand anything about first amendment, which is the answer to speech you do not like is not less speech, it's more speech. You don't shut down the initial speech. You have your own event. You offer your own viewpoints. But they were rows deep threatening you, people were getting pushed around and the people who wanted to get in to see you were getting stopped by the cops apparently, you say, under directions from the university?
SHAPIRO: So basically, what I say is the police officers were doing nothing. They’ve been told by the university “do not move any of the protesters who had locked arms, and were blocking off the doors so nobody could get through.” And there is plenty of video on Instagram and YouTube of these people who are attempting to just get in to listen being pushed around by members of the audience, who are screaming at them, cursing them, pushing them, assaulting them. A reporter from Breitbart was assaulted three times. A man who’s disabled with nerve damage. He was assaulted by folks who were protesting. It’s—it truly was the fascist left at work.
KELLY: I take it no apology was forthcoming?
SHAPIRO: No. [Laughter] No, of course not. The only apology they wanted was an apology from me. And then from the president for allowing me to speak in the first place. Again, I'm a California taxpayer. I pay for all these dolts to go to college here and all these professors to protest and try to tear down fliers.
But you know, this is blatant violation of free speech principles. And more than that, it's just more evidence
that there is a movement within the left, a very hardcore fascist movement within the left, to shut down speech they disagree with. And to punish physically people who they don't like.
And that's why at the very end I turned to the students and said “do you want to go out there and confront some of these protesters?” And I was told by the police officers, “if you do that, there could actually be a riot,” They said, “we don't have the capacity to protect you or the other students.” I'm talking about ten uniformed officers at the time scheduled to protect me.
KELLY: Professor Robert Weide, w.e.i.d.e, when people were placing fliers on the board. He apparently went out and tore down the fliers, called campus security and called the students fascists who wanted to hear you speak. Ben, thank you for being here.
SHAPIRO: Thanks so much.
