Left-wing personality Hasan Piker is scheduled to speak Wednesday at the University of Texas at Austin despite ample controversy that threatened to derail the University Democrats‘ event.
The club is hosting the event at the William C. Powers Jr. Student Activity Center, which contains 465 seats in its auditorium. Demand far outpaced the number of seats the auditorium could provide, so the event organizers tried to secure a larger venue.
The effort was unsuccessful, however, as the school refused to accommodate the club’s request. Also, the owner of an unspecified off-campus venue backtracked on hosting Piker’s event after the University Democrats signed a contract with the third party.
The student organization claims the university rejected its request to host the event at the 1,000-seat Hogg Memorial Auditorium, even though it was available at a later date.
As a result, the University Democrats were forced to return thousands of tickets because the original venue could not accommodate all interested attendees. The first 400 to 500 people who reserved tickets can still see Piker.
“Despite the pressure from MAGA politicians like Ted Cruz, Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, some Democrats, threats against us, and tens of thousands of dollars in security costs, this event will still take place as planned,” the University Democrats said in a statement on Sunday. “We will not cancel because if we allow them to win, they will not stop until every semblance of left-wing speech is prohibited.”
Earlier this month, a spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) commented on Piker’s invitation to speak at the University of Texas.
“Hasan Piker said America deserved 9/11 and praised the brutal terrorist organization Hamas,” the spokesperson told Jewish Insider. “University Democrats at UT Austin are choosing to amplify that disgusting rhetoric. Terrorist sympathizers have no place in Texas.”
The club accused the university of “charging us ridiculously high security fees to price us out of hosting this event,” so it set up a donation page via ActBlue to help pay for the event. As of Monday morning, roughly $2,400 of the $25,000 goal has been raised.
The Washington Examiner contacted the University of Texas for comment on the club’s allegation regarding security fees.
Piker has become particularly controversial this election cycle due to his anti-Jewish and anti-Israel comments, which have fueled allegations of antisemitism. For this reason, Republicans have tried linking the progressive Twitch streamer to Michigan Democrat Abdul el Sayed, who is running for Senate against Republican nominee Mike Rogers this fall.
El Sayed has tried distancing himself from Piker following bipartisan backlash over the latter figure’s remarks.
REPUBLICANS’ ANTI-HASAN PIKER MESSAGING STRUGGLES TO BREAK THROUGH IN MICHIGAN SENATE RACE
For instance, Piker said American Jews “singularly invested in Israel” are inviting violence against themselves. Many centrist Democrats have joined Republicans in condemning Piker’s comments.
Jewish commentator Ben Shapiro, who has also been critical of Piker, will speak at the University of Texas on Oct. 7, one week after Piker. Notably, Shapiro secured the Hogg Memorial Auditorium for the event, hosted by Turning Point USA.