Updated 3:30 p.m.
Conservative political activist and mainstream media antagonist James O’Keefe will give a talk about campus free speech in Middlebury Thursday night.
The talk comes the same week that the Washington Post reported that his organization, Project Veritas, apparently tried to plant fake news in the paper.
The title of the talk is “Middlebury’s Problem With Free Speech.” That’s a reference to controversy around the visit by Bell Curve author Charles Murray to the private college last spring that ended in a near-riot.
The visit comes as the college deals with continuing fallout around race relations and free speech from the Murray visit.
On Tuesday, an email promoting the O’Keefe talk circulated through the Middlebury College campus system. The email said the event was sponsored by a student group called the Preservation Society.
A few hours later, the college issued an email of its own saying that it is not sponsoring the O’Keefe event, and that the campus email system was spammed by O’Keefe’s group.
The Preservation Society is not a recognized student organization, according to the statement by Bill Burger, the college’s vice president for communications and chief marketing officer. It says:
Middlebury College has nothing to do with this event. Mr. O’Keefe has chosen to travel to town to pursue his own political and personal agenda. We also are unaware of any student group called the Preservation Society, which was named in the email as a host for the event. No one claiming to represent such an organization has approached the College with a request for recognition as a student organization.
O’Keefe’s organization, Project Veritas, is known for using false identities, fictitious cover stories, and concealed cameras to target media organizations and other institutions. We recommend you keep this in mind if you are approached this week by someone you don’t know who inquires into your political beliefs or opinions.
Project Veritas is famous, or infamous, for undercover videos designed to show liberal bias in the media.
O’Keefe’s visit to Vermont comes as the story of the apparently botched Washington Post sting captivates the country.
On Monday, the Post published a story detailing how a woman approached the newspaper with a fake story of having been impregnated by Moore as a teen-ager and urged to abort the pregnancy. The paper checked the story out but did not find it credible and did not report it. Instead, the newspaper reported on the apparent attempt by Project Veritas to plant fake news in an effort to discredit the newspaper.
A group of Republicans at the school put out a statement Wednesday afternoon denouncing the event. It reads, in part:
The Middlebury College Republicans are disappointed that non-college groups are attempting to advance their political agenda by using Middlebury as a location for publicity reasons. The College Republicans have no connection to this event, and would never extend an invitation to an individual known for using false identities, fictitious cover stories, and concealed cameras to target media organizations and other institutions.
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Lets see now , you’ve got a dirt bag like James O’Keefe who has no respect for truth or civility on one side and a bunch of so called anti-fascist students and bullies on the other who act like storm troopers . Oh and finally you have the craven Middlebury College leadership who always bow to political correctness at the expense of free speech and intellectual stimulation . A pox on all their houses !
My only sympathies goes to the peace officers who will have to deal with this mess .
The talk should be titled “Project Verita’s problem with ethics and lying.”
You’re welcome.
PS; It should always be mentioned that (from Wkipedia) O’Keefe and colleagues were arrested in New Orleans in January 2010 and charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony, at the office of United States Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat.
The charges in the case were reduced from a felony to a single misdemeanor count of entering a federal building under false pretenses.[68][69] O’Keefe and the others pleaded guilty on May 26. O’Keefe was sentenced to three years’ probation, 100 hours of community service and a $1,500 fine.
Agreed that O’Keefe is a scumbag.
“PS; It should always be mentioned that (from Wkipedia) O’Keefe and colleagues were arrested in New Orleans in January 2010 and charged with entering federal property under false pretenses”
Sounds similar to the incident right here at home where “protesters” pretending to be Vt. Gas employees entered the Vt. Gas HQ in South Burlington so they could get onto the roof of the building and cause mischief. And in that incident a Vt. Gas employee was hurt by the chain that another “protester” used to chain herself to the front door of the building. I don’t think the thugs in that incident even got the overly light sentence that O’Keefe got for his act of lawlessness.
My guess is that O’Keefe is looking for a publicity event so the best response is to totally ignore him. Don’t go near the place.
I imagine in Middlebury, VT there will be about 3 people that will show up. LOL. What a loser.
I would like to point out that a quick trip to the dictionary would find that “provocateur” and “pathetic small minded liar” have very different definitions. I am curious as to why 7 days chose the wrong word for their headline.
The dictionary would not have a definition for your four word term.
Provocateur is entirely accurate here.
Jimmmmmmmmmmmmmmy Jimmmmmmmmmmmmmy
Did anyone actually come to the event ?
Where was the event held ?
I knind of wish 7d would adhere to the journalistic maxim of covering Who/What/When/Where/How and How much. A lot is missing from this story.
Another question is whether rent was charged for the use of the facilities and whether the rent was actually paid.