PEN America CEO voices support for Andy Ngo’s right to speak following Dartmouth event cancellation

Dartmouth College canceled Ngo's Wednesday speaking engagement on "Extremism in America," which was hosted by Turning Point USA and the Dartmouth College Republicans. It have been a discussion of American academic institutions and their long history of entanglement with far-left violent extremism.

Soon after the event was announced, Antifa members in New England threatened violence to shut it down. In turn, Dartmouth cancelled the in-person event and went online, citing "safety issues," as detailed by Ngo in his article for the New York Post.

Sharing Ngo's article on Twitter, Suzanne Nossel, the CEO of PEN America, voiced her support for Ngo and his right to free speech.

"No matter what you think of [Andy Ngo's] views, if he was properly invited to speak [at Dartmouth] it would have been better to allow him to proceed, with adequate security. Its possible-and better-to forcefully protest a message without silencing it," wrote Nossel.

"The security (police) was there and the building was secured throughout the night. I’ve still been unable to get an answer from [Dartmouth] as to what new information, if any, they received that made them cancel the in-person event at the last minute," replied Ngo.

Stossel and Ngo's remarks were promptly seized upon by Antifa activists, who claim that Ngo was "caught lying" over the shutdown of the event, which they say was caused by the Dartmouth College Republicans' inability to staff a large public event without adequate organization.

Those opposed to the event also celebrated its shutdown on social media while disavowing any efforts that led to the event's cancellation.