Right-wing speaker returning to Penn State a year after his appearance provoked protesters

A year after provoking student protesters, controversial right-wing speaker and self-proclaimed “professional troll” Alex Stein is set to return to Penn State later this month.

The BlazeTV host, who gained headlines last summer for sexually harassing U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, will perform a “politically provocative comedy night” at 8 p.m. Oct. 23 in Room 154 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Stein last appeared on campus in October 2022, when he was set to speak alongside Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, both of whom were hosted by student group Uncensored America.

Ultimately, Penn State canceled that event about 45 minutes before it was set to begin due to the “threat of escalating violence” — and not the speech itself — after supporters of the Proud Boys, one of whom gave a Nazi salute, pepper-sprayed a number of protesters and reporters.

Stein was initially set to return in April, but the university could not accommodate a “last-minute request” to change Stein’s speaking date, so Uncensored America canceled it and rescheduled it for the fall. University President Neeli Bendapudi released a video last month that warned the community she had “no doubt” controversial speakers would soon return to campus.

“So what can we do about speakers who come to Penn State to anger, hurt and incite members of our community?” Bendapudi asked in the video. “Speak out, clearly and firmly, against hateful speech as well as other instances of discrimination. Hurtful rhetoric causes real fear and anxiety among our community, and those individuals need your support. ...

“And, if you wish to exercise your free speech rights by protesting the speaker, we support you in this action since rejecting hate-filled speech is the responsibility of everyone.”

University leaders have repeatedly said they cannot cancel such speeches due to the First Amendment, something multiple legal experts also previously confirmed to the CDT. Stein is also set to receive $7,000 in speaking fees from the student-run University Park Allocation Committee, with experts previously telling the CDT that such funding decisions must remain viewpoint-neutral, meaning that funding cannot be decided for speech-based reasons.

Still, in and around Happy Valley, students and community members have overwhelmingly opposed the messages of right-wing speakers — and that’s led to the Penn State campus becoming a battleground for free speech, tolerance and conservative vs. liberal ideals. All-American swimmer Riley Gaines, who opposes the inclusion of trans women in female sports, spoke on campus Tuesday amid a national spotlight.

Gaines initially claimed Penn State canceled her speech. But Penn State said it did no such thing, explaining it never received Gaines’ booking confirmation. (Gaines attempted to challenge Penn State’s narrative over social media, but was only able to show confirmation of a reservation request.) Regardless, Gaines ended up speaking on the lawn of the HUB-Robeson Center, where two non-students were removed from Tuesday’s event and are issued summary citations.

Gaines is hardly the only right-wing speaker to visit University Park. The first post-pandemic incident happened in October 2021 and involved Milo Yiannopoulos and his “Pray the Gay Away” speaking event. (A counter-event called “Love is Louder” outdrew him by more than a 7-to-1 margin.) A year later, in October 2022, McInnes and Stein were set to speak in Thomas Building before the speech’s eventual cancellation.

Before the cancellation, Stein walked through the crowd of protesters with a smile and recorded their interactions, from one person spitting on him to him tearing up a protester’s sign. “I’ll be honest, probably the best content of the whole show,” Stein said at the time.

Stein likely won’t be the end of controversial speakers at Penn State — even when it comes to this semester. Another recognized student group, Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative activism organization, previously told the CDT it is planning to bring two speakers to campus this semester — including James Lindsay, whom the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled an “extremist” due in part to his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. No official announcements have yet been made.