1000-plus Texas A&M students protest white supremacist Richard Spencer
College Station, TX – White supremacist Richard Spencer was meet by more than 1000 protesters when he came to Texas A&M University, Dec. 6. He was not invited by the university, but rented the space to hold his event. While the university claimed it was “concerned,” it made no effort to cancel the event and provided very tight security for him.
The protest began with a few hundred students, but quickly grew into over 1000. Students were very angry that the university was allowing this racist to use their facilities. Some students also attended Spencer’s event and tried to disrupt it, but were confronted by a fascist and escorted out of the building by the police.
The protest began outside with speeches and students chanting “No Spencer, no KKK, no racist USA,” and “No platform for fascists!” After about an hour, one of the student leaders called upon the students to enter the building and shut down Spencer's event.
The students marched into the building chanting “Power to the power,” and holding clenched fists. As they marched to the room where Spencer was speaking on the second floor, over 50 riot police in full gear showed up to defend the door. The police created a blockade and started pushing protesters back. They hit protesters with their batons, and one woman who was struck fainted.
The protesters locked arms and tried to push through the swarm of riot police, chanting “Cops and Klan go hand in hand,” and “Who do you protect, who do you serve?”
Bryan X, a student at Texas Southern University and a Black Panther, gave a speech saying, “It is obvious which side of white supremacy the blue line stands for. They defend white supremacists like Richard Spencer so that he can spread his message of hate, while hitting us over the heads with batons. We must stand united and resist these pigs!”
The cops tried to break up the crowd, but they continued to resist. After about 20 minutes, the police started charging and came in from all corners and surrounded the protesters. They arrested two people who got caught in the police cage. They forced everyone out of the building and all sides were surrounded by a mass of riot police in full gear, cops on horseback, as well as university police.
The students continued to protest outside, when a small group of Nazis showed up. The hundreds of students that were still in attendance rushed over shouting, “Nazis go home!” and “Hey hey, ho ho, these Nazis have got to go!” They surrounded the Nazis, and the police attempted to interfere. The crowd was too large for the cops to get in, and the students forced the Nazis off campus.
Michael Leone, a member of Students for a Democratic Society and student at the University of Houston, said, “The counter-protest was enormously successful. Many students have been woken up by the alarm bells of the fascist surge and now, because we came together as a community to display solidarity and resistance to this imminent threat. Many students who yesterday were passively supportive are today actively engaged.”
David Smith of Houston Socialist Movement said, “The demonstration against Richard Spencer at Texas A&M University was historic. The action was massive, diverse and expressly anti-fascist. It was wonderful to see activists and students unite in militant opposition to any platform for neo-Nazis.”
Amy Zachmeyer of the Democratic Socialists of America said, “I congratulate all of the protesters from last night's anti-fascist event on making their voices heard and choosing to fight oppression and hatred. People who have never been politically active before are waking up to realize that in these times they must pick a side, and they are choosing diversity over divisiveness. It was also clear that the fight against fascism has already begun, and is going to be led by a united left.”
The protest was organized by the Houston Socialist Movement, Students for a Democratic Society, Democratic Socialists of America, FIEL, LITE, and the Latin American Organization for Immigrant Rights.