"Steve Bannon represents a whole lot of ugliness in the world right now," said Indivisible Charleston spokeswoman Vanessa A. Moody-Laird. "Historically, Charleston has found its strength in embracing all the beautiful people here, not dividing them. He’s very much a divisive character."
Bannon will be speaking at the student-led Republican Society's annual Patriot Dinner on Nov. 10 at the school's alumni center. He became a lightning rod for controversy when he accepted the job of chief executive of Donald Trump's campaign in August 2016. Worries about the alt-right, white-supremacist stances of Breitbart News, the website he ran before joining the campaign, continue to plague the White House even after Bannon's departure this August.
"We all have free speech, but we do not have freedom from the consequences of our speech," Moody-Laird said. "As taxpayers, we all have every right to protest and voice our concern about his presence on a public campus."
Dixon submitted a permit request to the city but was told to go through the Citadel instead. On Thursday Nov. 2, he met with state Rep. William Gilliard and Citadel president Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa.
"I got the paperwork from Citadel on Thursday and was able to get it back to them on Friday, so we do have approval, technically," Dixon said.
Dixon said that the rally, a term her prefers given that "protest is antagonistic," is not meant to curtail Bannon's free speech.
"Bannon can come, I don’t care," Dixon said. "Free speech also dictates that we don’t have to say it’s all right."
The Citadel has not yet verified the status of the groups' request.Showing 1-3 of 3