Berkeley police, students prepare for possible Coulter protests
BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Even though Ann Coulter will not appear at Cal Thursday, school officials say they are ready for possible protesters.
RELATED: Student groups blame Coulter cancellation on Cal
Civic Center Park has turned into an actual battleground in May, and may again Thursday.
"So Ann has sent over her speech to a few of us and we haven't decided who exactly is going to read it yet," said self-described right-wing political commentator and author Lauren Southern. "Ann's words will be spoken in Bay Area tomorrow whether people like it or not."
Southern says Berkeley is a battleground.
She says the fight started when violent protests forced the cancellation of a Milo Yiannopoulos event.
Now, Coulter's scheduling controversy with UC Berkeley is causing issues.
RELATED: Ann Coulter speech at UC Berkeley is off
"All of the people that should have been standing up for the first amendment all ran away with their tails between their legs," Coulter said.
"We have received numerous threats and threatening intel regarding tomorrow," said Captain Alex Yao of UC Berkeley police.
A rally earlier this month turned violent.
It's unclear how many people will show up for the new 2 p.m. rally in Civic Center Park.
"Walking around campus tomorrow, you will see a high number, a highly visible presence of law enforcement," Yao added.
"Whether Antifa will show up is an entirely different question, but we'll be prepared for that if it comes," Southern told ABC7 News.
PHOTOS: Protests erupt at UC Berkeley's Milo Yiannopoulos event
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