White nationalist event at UT-Knoxville brings heavy police presence, protesters

Protesters outnumbered attendees more than 10 to one when white nationalist Rick Tyler came to speak at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville on Tuesday evening.

Tyler — who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2016 under the slogan "Make America White Again" and who came under fire for billboards showing the White House surrounded by Confederate flags — was scheduled to speak at the Alumni Memorial Building at 6 p.m.

More than 100 protesters gathered outside the event, carrying signs with slogans ranging from "Vol Means All" to "Nazis Suck." By the time Tyler began speaking around 7 p.m., nine people were sitting inside the auditorium. One man was promptly kicked out for heckling Tyler, and two more people were removed after they began chanting "No racists at UT."

Another person was escorted out for playing punk rock music on a cellphone.

Read more: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/education/2019/05/28/rick-tyler-tennessee-student-protest-white-nationalist-event/1204405001/