Sanders denounces threats against Ann Coulter

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) denounced the threats made against conservative pundit Ann Coulter that forced the University of California, Berkley, to postpone her appearance this week.

“I don’t like this. I don’t like it,” Sanders told The Huffington Post for a story published Saturday. “Obviously Ann Coulter’s outrageous ― to my mind, off the wall. But you know, people have a right to give their two cents-worth, give a speech, without fear of violence and intimidation.”

Coulter’s original talk at the university was postponed due to security concerns, with local police saying they had received “very specific intelligence regarding threats that could pose a grave danger to the speaker, attendees and those who may wish to lawfully protest the event.”

{mosads}Sanders pushed back against protests that Coulter shouldn’t be allowed to speak, calling them “a sign of intellectual weakness.”

“If you can’t ask Ann Coulter in a polite way questions which expose the weakness of her arguments, if all you can do is boo, or shut her down, or prevent her from coming, what does that tell the world?” he told The Huffington Post.

Berkley reversed course after Coulter announced she would come to the university as planned. The university proposed a different day and venue for the event, but Coulter and the campus College Republicans group are vowing to hold the event on April 27, the original day as planned.