High School Cancels and Then Reinstates Turning Point Speaker Event

Many times over Charlie Kirk’s career, those who opposed the idea of anyone hearing his conservative message would threaten to disrupt the college campuses where his Turning Point USA was attempting to hold an event. This would give the school administrators just enough cover to pull the plug on an event under the guise of preventing a “disruption” on campus.

As the Turning Point movement grew, that became less frequent, and as his “Prove Me Wrong” debates welcomed opposing viewpoints, the cancellations had seemingly gone the way of the dodo.

Well, they came back.

This time, it was the Turning Point USA chapter at Western Albemarle High School outside Charlottesville, Virginia, that became the focal point of the threat. The chapter had scheduled Victoria Cobb, president of Virginia’s Family Foundation, to visit with them Oct. 1.

The school pulled the plug citing—that’s right—concerns over a possible “disruption” on campus. It’s not that the Turning Point meeting was going to be disruptive. No, not that. It’s that the “counterprotest” from the Left would be. Classic.

Then, just a little over 24 hours before Cobb’s talk was scheduled to have taken place, the school reversed its position, saying in a statement: “Following discussions with the student leader and with agreement on expectations to ensure the event is orderly, respectful, and concludes within the lunch period, the principal has determined that the Turning Point USA chapter at Western Albemarle High School may host its guest speaker during a regular lunchtime meeting,”

>>> Sign up for our Virginia email newsletter

Cobb visits with The Daily Signal to talk about the event and the grander landscape of a potential return of “cancel culture.”

Listen to our interview: