Top 5 campus protest turned violent this year

The disruption quickly escalated after disgruntled rioters attempted to bust down the door to the event, which was held shut by law enforcement.

A member of Young Americans for Freedom, Lane Whitten, was assaulted by protesters during Matt Walsh’s speech at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Oftentimes, conservative speakers are protested by leftist college students, sometimes resulting in violent escalations. Campus Reform compiled a list of the top 5 campus protests that turned violent this year.


1. EXCLUSIVE: Riot erupts outside of Tomi Lahren’s campus appearance

Tomi Lahren’s appearance at the University of New Mexico In September was cut short after a protester allegedly pulled a fire alarm, a video obtained by Campus Reform shows. 

The videos show a large number of protesters swarming the public space outside of the Student Union Building. The disruption quickly escalated after disgruntled rioters attempted to bust down the door to the event, which was held shut by law enforcement. Rioters shouted “shut it down” and “let us in” while attempting to overpower security officers.


2. EXCLUSIVE: Leftists allegedly pull fire alarm during Candace Owens speech

Leftist students allegedly pulled the fire alarm in a failed attempt to silence Candace Owens during her speech at North Dakota State University in September. 

Approximately 30 protesters rallied outside the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event to berate over 1,000 people who showed up to attend the event, footage obtained by Campus Reform shows.

“Look how most of you are white. Isn’t that a coincidence,” one protester yelled to the attendees, who were flooding into the auditorium ahead of Owens’ speech.


3. TPUSA posters vandalized ahead of speaker event

TPUSA posters were allegedly vandalized at Georgia State University ahead of its chapter’s October speaking event featuring investigative journalist Drew Hernandez. 

The posters, which promoted school choice, were vandalized with black marker, urging the speaker to “get off our campus.”


4. TPUSA chapter event with Benny Johnson disrupted by a student’s violent outburst

In late September, a male student at the University of Iowa (UI) kicked a projector and shouted obscenities during a TPUSA event with TPUSA contributor Benny Johnson.  

UI’s TPUSA chapter Secretary Cristina Carthey identified the man as Travell Wright, a student at UI. 

The video shows Johnson and UI students watching a viral video of Kamala Harris exclaiming “Oh my god, I love it” as a bus pulls up outside her home with a mariachi band.


5. EXCLUSIVE: Injured student assaulted during Matt Walsh event

In October, a member of Young Americans for Freedom, Lane Whitten, was assaulted by protesters during Matt Walsh’s speech at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

Whitten, also a Campus Reform correspondent, was surrounded by a host of protesters chanting “F**k Matt Walsh!, video obtained by Campus Reform shows. 

He told Campus Reform. “I was there in a non-political capacity to record the protesters as I’d planned on writing an article about the university’s response to this event.”