President Trump announced Saturday that he will sign an executive order that would mandate colleges and universities to guarantee steps to protect free speech on campus in order to receive funding for federal research.
“Today I’m proud to announce that I will be very soon signing an executive order requiring colleges and universities to support free speech,” Trump said during his two hour remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “If they want our dollars, and we give it to them by the billions, they’ve got to allow people like Hayden and many other great young people, and old people, to speak. Free speech.”
The crowd responded with chants of “USA! USA! USA!”
The announcement came right after Trump brought up to the stage, Hayden Williams, a campus recruiter for The Leadership Institute was punched in the face at the University of California at Berkeley last month while assisting the university’s chapter of the group Turning Point USA group.
“Ladies and gentlemen, he took a hard punch in the face for all of us. Remember that,” Trump said of Hayden. “He took a punch for all of us. And we can never allow that to happen.”
The University of California Police Department said they had identified the suspect as Zachary Greenberg, and that he had been arrested and booked. Police added that the case would be presented to the district attorney’s office for “consideration of the filing of criminal charges.” Bail for Greenberg, 28, was set at $30,000.
“And if they don’t, it will be very costly. That’ll be signed very soon,” Trump said. “Every day, we’re restoring common sense and the timeless values that unite us all. We believe in the Constitution and the rule of law. We believe in the First Amendment right.”
The White House has not announced any details about the executive order.
BerkeleyConservative Political Action CommitteeCPACCPAC 2019Free SpeechHayden WilliamsPresident TrumpWhite HouseWhite House News
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