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Violent Student Protesters Shut Down Tomi Lahren Speech at University of New Mexico

Fox News personality Tomi Lahren visited the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque Thursday to speak to the campus Turning Point USA chapter but had to be escorted to safety by New Mexico State Police after a violent mob shoved into the Student Union, past campus police protecting the doors to the auditorium where she was speaking, and nearly into the auditorium itself while chanting, “F**k Tomi Lahren! F**k Turning Point!”

Lahren, her father, and several members of the TPUSA chapter were barricaded in a back room in the student union for 45 minutes while campus police called in reinforcements from the Albuquerque Police Department and the New Mexico State Police, according to an Instagram Live video Lahren posted shortly after getting to safety.

Turning Point officials confirmed Lahren’s account and provided video from TPUSA chapter members exclusively to RedState.

Lahren’s appearance had been advertised by the group for weeks, and, as usually happens, the anti-free speech/anti-free thought crowd made their displeasure known and threatened to protest. In her video Lahren said she’d heard rumblings about a protest, but thought it would be the normal.

Usually it’s small, it’s manageable, just some rowdy people, disgruntled liberals, you know, the standard.

So, a protest started. We were in a room. They were outside, of course, screaming and chanting the F word, disgusting things. And then it turned violent. They started pushing the officers that were guarding the door, trying to bust in the door. I don’t know what they were trying to do to me and to the others that were there listening to the speech, but they tried to bust through the doors. Then at one point they almost made it through the door….

Not nearly enough officers were present. I don’t think anybody knew it was going to be this bad. But then somebody pulled the fire alarm. Alarms were going off everywhere and we’re all basically barricaded in this room, can’t leave. I was escorted away for my safety by officers. Then we heard reports of shots fired. apparently no shots were fired, so thank goodness for that.

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Lahren’s concern was not for herself, but for the students.

University of New Mexico, apparently they don’t care. They don’t care that students’ lives were endangered, guests lives were endangered. Like, never mind me. You do have your tuition-paying students that were in that room to listen to a speaker, and they were in danger. We were all in danger.

As this compilation of videos from UNM Turning Point USA chapter members shows, campus police outside the auditorium were not able to keep the angry mob from nearly bursting in.

Lahren continued:

Then the state police had to be called. The emergency unit had to be called in because that’s how bad it got. We were barricaded in the kitchen for probably about a half an hour to 45 minutes. My dad was with me, and with the TPUSA people, a couple of the college people, barricaded in a back room having to wait for State Police to get there to be escorted away and get out of this city.

Protests are one thing, but the unbridled anger and complete disrespect for campus officials shown by the protesters (I won’t characterize them all as students, as some reporters covering the event have said that community groups worked to organize the protests along with campus groups) take it to the next level. As Lahren says:

I am dumbfounded that people could be so disgusting, so violent, so evil to their fellow classmates. Never mind me, if you don’t like me… but the fact that they were doing that and threatening violence and trying to not only push, shove officers, but also, you know, hurt their fellow classmates, that’s disgusting and disturbing on a whole other level. And what’s even worse is that these people feel that they can get away with that. They are so emboldened because they know that the university isn’t going to do anything.

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They had to call in Albuquerque Police and New Mexico State Police. That’s how bad it got. But the university doesn’t give support to their officers, doesn’t make sure that people that are at the university are safe.

But if somebody did get hurt, that is on — certainly on the head of University of New Mexico, who quite frankly doesn’t care, apparently, about their students if they’re conservative….I am so disgusted.

Protesters apparently thought that since Lahren’s speech was on the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, that it was planned as some sort of slight to Hispanic and “indigenous” students. This guy, formerly a member of the student newspaper, decided to infiltrate the speech as some kind of badge of honor.

But here’s how the TPUSA chapter advertised it.

And this student, at her first protest as an adult — wow, what a great milestone! — somehow thought that chanting “Black Lives Matter” was the perfect way to get the message that “Tomi Lahren is not welcome on indigenous land” across.

Compared to these students shouting either “F**k Tomi Lahren” or “F**k Turning Point,” though, the students around Victoria were extremely well-spoken.

This self-described organizer bragged that they “kicked Tomi Lahren out of UNM campus and it took less than an hour of disruption” but seemed to add a bit of a threat. “Get your a** back to the airport tonight. F**k you. Go home. You are not wanted here, you racist f**k. Get out!”

UNM student and Turning Point USA supporter Zach Moore said:

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As a student and long-time supporter of Turning Point USA, I am saddened at how this event turned out. For the safety of our speaker, club officers, and attendees our event was cut short after a group of protesters attempted to violently enter the room. I am all about free speech, but threatening a group of fellow students and individuals is unacceptable.

I would like to thank the University of New Mexico Police Department for protecting all attendees at the event, as well as Albuquerque Police Department, New Mexico State Police, and Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. This event showed the power Turning Point USA at UNM has in affecting a deep blue state as New Mexico in fighting for what we believe in.

Predictably, here is the headline from the Daily Lobo.

Story cited here.

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