Hundreds of Penn State students attacked comedian Alex Stein as he was on his way to host an event

Penn State University was the scene of a violent protest organized by hundreds of students at a comedy event hosted by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and television host Alex Stein, who were attacked by protesters.

Stein posted on his Twitter account a video showing a mob of violent students physically attacking and insulting the hosts. In one part of the footage, a protester can be heard saying, "You're the reason I feel unsafe in this town.... You're the f***ing reason we're all here today.... You're the reason why people feel unsafe in this country. I hate you!"

The host responded with, "I love you. I think you are a good woman." Subsequently, the student proceeded to spit in Stein's face. He looked at the camera and said, "Wow, she spit on me!" (...) "I like that fetish."

After the event was cancelled, the host claimed that he wanted to give a "free speech" near the university. This further enraged the protesters who held up signs reading "I bash Nazis," "dismantle white supremacy," "racists off our campus," and "anti-fascism" while verbally insulting Stein with phrases such as, "I hope you die," "you should have been aborted," and other offensive remarks.

In the same video protesters can be seen repeatedly shushing him when he tries to grab a microphone, to which Stein responds "I'm not afraid of anyone here.” The comedian also spoke about how worrying it is that students are not clear about the concept of freedom of expression, when they are the "future of the nation": "It is the sad reality of all this.” He later posted on Twitter, "Penn State shut down my speech on campus today! Free speech doesn't exist for conservatives!"

A "threat of escalating violence"

The university canceled the event, attributing the move to a "threat of escalating violence associated with the event." In a statement, the university said:

The event was organized by Uncensored America, a free speech advocacy group based at Penn State. Ever since the event was announced, there have been calls from protesters to cancel it. However, the university decided to move forward with the event until an hour before the violence broke out.

Stein and McInnes were recorded in a video, which was later uploaded by the university's newspaper, running toward a car that was waiting with a police escort to leave campus.