Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins details protest at Virginia Commonwealth University
Antifa activists and pro-choice students shouted down the pro-life speakers so they were unable to give their presentation, ultimately forcing them to leave the room
A speech at a Virginia university erupted into violent protest last week with left-wing protesters refusing to let a prominent anti-abortion group engage in civil discourse, and the pro-life leader who endured it is still angry with the school.
Students for Life of America (SFLA) President Kristan Hawkins and her co-host Isabel Brown were shouted down by protesters during their speech at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, which eventually erupted into a violent altercation.
Hawkins said she took the podium and told protesters that she would put aside her entire planned speech and take their questions, but they continued to chant over her, shouting "Fascists Go Home," "Nazis Go Home," and "F--- Pro-lifers," according to a live feed of the altercation.
"I think people need to understand this is a serious threat in our country where we have terrorists who walk onto public campuses, who aren't even students there, who shut down civil discourse and dialogue," Hawkins told Fox News Digital. "How can our constitutional republic [and] how can our nation survive if we allow this to happen?"
Hawkins said she wants to be invited back to VCU to ensure the "heckler's veto" doesn't win and indicated that the next step for SFLA will be to take legal action.
Protesters at Virginia Commonwealth University interrupted a speech planned by Students for Life of America last week. (Courtesy of Students for Life of America)
"What you saw happen at VCU was a dehumanization of just pro-lifers in general," Hawkins said. "They weren't even willing to have a discussion [or] have a conversation with me. They just wanted to call me a fascist and a Nazi."
Campus security and Richmond police stood outside the room, only intervening once the protest turned violent. Hawkins was traveling with private security that eventually had to intervene to protect both her and other pro-life people in the crowd.
Police asked Hawkins to leave the room in order to quell the scene, but she told police, "You would have to arrest me. I’m not leaving."
SFLA claimed to have recognized professional Antifa agitators in the crowd because they have shown up at other events. They said they carried the Antifa flag, along with Black Lives Matter and transgender power signs, which were used to assault those in the crowd who were recording the chaos. Antifa refers to the loosely connected, far-left group known for its black attire and willingness to use violence and intimidation against its right-wing opponents.
"We've never had a situation quite like this where the school was completely absent, that the police weren't there, which allowed Antifa just to freely walk into the room," Hawkins said.
When one of the pro-life audience members started to respond to the protesters, things started to escalate, according to Hawkins. As a series of altercations unfolded, a number of pro-life students and SFLA staff were assaulted. EMTs were called to the scene to treat injuries and several complaints were filed.
Among those included SFLA's documentarian, Kevin Feliciano, who was recording the event and filed the complaint after he was blocked and struck with signs to prevent him from doing his job, according to SFLA's report.
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Autumn Walser, the president of Students for Life at VCU, received an injury to her leg and another student suffered cuts and scratches as a result of protesters clawing at her. SFLA is providing security for Walser "for the near future" until it is deemed safe for her on campus.
Hawkins told Fox News Digital that its SFLA group at VCU has faced opposition the entire school year and "Antifa characters" have interacted with student members "negatively," but prior to the event, there was no indication that "Antifa trans activists" and "radical pro aborts" were going to show up at the event. It is unclear which, if any, of the protesters who disrupted the event consider themselves part of the far-left organization.
Students worked hard in preparation for the event, enduring pushback from the school and threats throughout the school year, which she said made it disappointing when they were silenced because a group of people "entered the room and knew they could create chaos and a threatening situation for them to win."
Protesters at Virginia Commonwealth University interrupted a speech planned by Students for Life of America last week. (Courtesy of Students for Life of America)
Hawkins and other pro-life students and leaders were contained in a locked safe room, while the others were allowed to walk off the scene, she told Fox News Digital.
She said the two protesters who were arrested were not VCU students, but "complete strangers" who were able to walk onto campus, enter the room and disrupt the event.
The disruption did lead to the arrest of two individuals, identified as Natalie Hoskins III, 22, and Anthony Marvin, 30, a VCU spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Thursday. Hoskins was charged with simple assault and Marvin charged with disorderly conduct, according to WRIC. Neither suspect is affiliated with the school.
"I would say probably half of them just from a fair guess, were probably not VCU students at all," Hawkins said. "At one point there is a man… mini skirt was open to the side, giving me a not great view of his underwear and what was inside of his underwear."
"These trans women who will never get pregnant and can't ever get pregnant somehow feel like they're justified in shouting down biological women when they want to talk about abortion," she added. "You can't let that behavior rule the day."
Hawkins said the only time the protesters silenced anyone on their own side was when one of them started calling her "fat."
"'Don't do that'," the protesters said, according to Hawkins. "'Don't call her fat, call her a Nazi' …that's a really interesting state of discourse in our country today."
Ultimately, once the interaction turned violent, Hawkins and her colleagues agreed to leave the room. She admitted that the protesters got what they wanted, because they were able to silence her, cheering as she was escorted out of the room.
In the safe room, Hawkins and her colleagues were able to do an impromptu Q&A roundtable with around 15 pro-choice and pro-life students who wanted to have a genuine conversation.
"They allowed the rest of the protesters just to leave on their own," she said. "When I was told I was free to leave the campus with no campus escort… the Antifa members were sitting at Chick-Fil-A."
Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins and her co-host Isabel Brown ahead of their planned speech. (Courtesy of Students for Life of America)
"It's clearly the school's willingness to continue to allow Antifa, trans radicals, other pro-abortion activists to rule the roost and dictate the terms," she said. "That to me was one of the most frustrating parts of the entire evening."
"It emphasizes that we have to continue to forge ahead," she added. "We have to continue to force conversations to happen even when people don't want to have those conversations."
Hawkins said she has received numerous Instagram direct messages from pro-choice individuals who watched the live video of the altercation and explained that while they disagree with her on abortion, they are sorry to see the way she was treated.
"This is a battle that I'm proud to continue to fight, because this goes far beyond just the violence of abortion," she said. "This goes about the future of our country."
Hawkins argued that protesters, like those SFLA encountered at VCU, are actually going to convert more pro-choicers into pro-lifers.
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"People come up, and they scream and shout," she said. "They don't really ask questions. They're not really listening for an answer. They just want to try to trap me in something."
"They can't actually engage and have a viable defense for abortion," she added. "They just want to like scream and shout and call people Nazis and fascists. That speaks volumes to those pro-choice people who are paying attention and trying to figure this issue out."
Michael Porter, a spokesperson for VCU, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch the university was "disappointed" that the meeting was disrupted.
"VCU is committed to promoting a safe environment for our students, faculty, staff and visitors so that the right to gather and speak freely is protected," Porter told the outlet. "We must extend dignity and respect to others, especially those with whom we disagree."
Fox News' Madeline Coggins contributed to this report.
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