Those trying to watch the Young America’s Foundation (YAF) livestream of Matt Walsh’s University of Houston speech Thursday night were met with an unavailable video, and leftist student employees are being blamed.
YAF wrote following the event that it believes it is likely that student employees who opposed Walsh’s speech disrupted the livestream. Part of the speech was seen on YAF’s YouTube page, but poor audio made it impossible to hear what Walsh was saying. The livestream later became completely unavailable.
“One of the student workers, Ky Lai, was in communication with members of a leftist coalition, ‘Stop Transphobia @ UH,’ and shared that she would be working behind the scenes. After YAF became aware of this student worker’s postings, she was removed from the event, and a bomb sweep was conducted,” Nick Baker, assistant editor for YAF’s The New Guard, wrote.
According to Baker, several student workers were required by the university to remain on site for the event and had access to YAF’s streaming equipment in the hours before Walsh’s speech.
Earlier in the night, a person protesting the event was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed by police. Video of the incident showed the masked protester, who had made it inside the event venue, on the ground and surrounded by five police officers who were attempting to arrest him. The protestor appeared to be carrying a small transgender flag that ended up on the ground beside him.
WATCH: Masked protestor tackled by police at @mattwalshblog's event in Houston pic.twitter.com/bEKfT2WKpC
— YAF (@yaf) October 13, 2022
Officers finally handcuffed the protester and escorted him outside, where a group of protestors can be heard chanting in the background of the video. In another video, the group outside Walsh’s event shouts, “What do we want? Walsh out! When do we want it? Now!”
Far-left protesters chant “What do we want? WALSH OUT!” outside a screening of What Is A Woman at the University of Houston.
Footage by TPM’s Beth Baisch @PuffinsPictures pic.twitter.com/CyuBIlwiWZ
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 13, 2022
“I have taken their feedback into consideration but unfortunately I must decline their request at this time,” the Daily Wire host responded in a tweet.
The protesters were vastly outnumbered by those who were attending the event that included a screening of “What is a Woman?” followed by a speech from Walsh. Long lines formed around the building for the event in the hours leading up to it, and officers from the Houston Police Department sat on horseback as protesters and attendees arrived.
In the days leading up to the event, an anarchist group attempted to form a protest to counter what they call Walsh’s “transphobia.”
“On Thursday, far-right bigot and transphobe Matt Walsh will be on campus! We must oppose this hate!” a social media announcement from Space City AO said. “The majority of UH students and workers reject this hatred! We must organize the largest possible counter-protest to make sure Matt Walsh and other bigots know they’re unwelcome!”
A Texas Democratic state representative even joined the protesters outside the event. “U of H no place for hate!” Rep. Jon Rosenthal chanted with the crowd.
Representative @Jon_RosenthalTX chants “U Of H No Place For Hate” in support of protesters outside of @MattWalshBlog’s screening of ‘What Is A Woman’. pic.twitter.com/U0RL9ZoRTY
— Tayler Hansen (@TaylerUSA) October 14, 2022