Texas A&M has canceled a white nationalist rally

What you need to know

A lot has happened these past few days — even if you only include the words “white nationalists” and “Texas A&M University.” Here’s what you need to know:

• The sentiment that sparked a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend washed into Texas when Preston Wiginton announced Saturday he was planning a “White Lives Matter” rally in September at Texas A&M University. Wiginton, who’s tried for years to get students on campus to come to his events, noted the infamous “alt-right” leader Richard Spencer would be there — and the news generated outrage on social media. Students at the university were quick to counter with a planned protest of their own, and state lawmakers at the Texas Capitol spent part of Monday holding a moment of silence for Charlottesville and urging A&M to cancel the event.

• But on Monday afternoon, A&M announced it was canceling the rally. The decision came after university President Michael Young and A&M System Chancellor John Sharp met with other university leaders and law enforcement officials Monday. The school said in a statement it was concerned about student safety and pointed to Charlottesville as the type of event they were hoping to avoid. Gov. Greg Abbott said he had a hand in the decision, too — the governor’s office said it worked with school leaders “to prevent the type of hate-filled event that we saw in Charlottesville,” per a spokesperson, who added that “Abbott’s top goal is to ensure the safety and security of Texans and Texas A&M students.”

• The event may not be happening, but legal challenges might. Since A&M is a public university, an event can’t be barred just because of the views of its organizer. And Wiginton told the Tribune on Monday that the university could expect legal action soon. “I guess my lawyers will now be suing the state of Texas,” he said, adding, “We have two lawyers in Texas who are alt-right-leaning who will get in on the action, too.”

 

Disclosure: Texas A&M has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors is available here.