Another Win for Anti-First Amendment Forces and a Loss for Academic Integrity at Dartmouth College

There are two common interpretations for the acronym ANTIFA. Antifa’s critics prefer “ANTI First Amendment” while Antifa fancies the fantastical “ANTI FAscists.” But, for a group that claims to fight fascism, they sure have a penchant for fascist tactics.

This is another win for the forces of oppression and censorship and their complicit or cowardly allies in academia? (insert ominous music here).

Recently, an ivy-entangled college administrator at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., intervened in a planned live event sponsored by the Dartmouth College Republicans (DCR) and Turning Point USA. The school forced the event onto an online virtual platform after Antifa members had threatened the student Republicans with violence.

Then, disgracefully, the college administrators, rather than blame the perpetrators of the threatened violence, blamed Antifa’s victims for… I guess, for being victims of threats and intimidation.

According to, Alice Giordano at The Epoch Times, the DCR says the Ivy League “school’s administration has deserted them and has made false and embarrassing allegations against them to avoid bad publicity by canceling an event under heavy protest by far-left extremist group Antifa.”

The Republican group’s event was titled, “Extremism in America,” which, ironically, was shut down by extremism in America. Andy Ngo, probably the nation’s best-known expert on Antifa, was scheduled to speak. Antifa thugs have physically assaulted Ngo several times, seriously injuring and putting the Portland-based journalist in the hospital.

The Republican group reported members of Antifa’s fascist militia threatened violence against the organization and Ngo in particular. Reportedly, an Antifa member named Jonathan Dylan Chase offered a bounty to any person “who managed to assault Ngo.” A local group, Dartmouth Anarchists, “also posted violent insinuations…” on social media.

A purported Antifa member tweeted, “So long as we stand, Dartmouth will never be a safe space for [right-wingers] to spew their misinformation. Wear black to show your solidarity and hide your identity!” Misinformation? Well, that’s a specific word choice. I guess they got the memo from the Dems, too.

The college is responsible for campus safety. This includes conservatives and Republicans. But these academic squishes are saying the College Republicans asked for it by daring to want to express a different opinion—on a college campus.

Rather than stand up for the free speech and assembly rights of all their students, Dartmouth has succumbed to the violent bullying tactics committed by one of the most infamous radical leftist groups in existence. The university released a statement apparently blaming the victims for not being properly “prepared” for the violence threatened against them.

The statement read: “In light of concerning information from Hanover police regarding safety issues, similar concerns expressed by the College Republican leadership, and challenges with the student organization’s ability to staff a large public event and communicate effectively (including dissemination of the visitor policy and a prohibition of bags in the building), the College has requested that the Extremism in America panel be moved online.”

But, according to reporting, this statement seems inaccurate—and a tad malicious? The Times reported that Griffin Mackey, the DCR president, told Dartmouth, “local and state police were well prepared for any violence from the group and had a SWAT team in place before the event began.” Mackey added, “Moore Hall may have been the safest place in all of New Hampshire.”

Also, an email exchange with the senior assistant dean for student life, Anna Hall, shows the DCR had emailed event registrants that backpacks were prohibited and “student ID would be strictly required.” In addition, the DCR placed notifications on Dartmouth’s “online bulletin and around campus, the emails show.”

The DCR’s VP, Chloe Ezzo, believes the college was looking for a “reason” to shut down the presentation. Mackey agreed, saying the way Dartmouth handled this event has “created a roadmap for derailing these kinds of activities.”

Yes, Dartmouth was right to fear Antifa violence, which was the point of the event. But the college wasn’t right to blame the victims. Giordano reported that on social media the John Brown Gun Club, Green Mountain Chapter (Antifa’s armed members) posted a notice they’d “‘called up reserves’ of ‘Antifa super soldiers…’” to deploy to the DCR’s event.

Should the administration have feared for their students’ safety from this radical left-wing insurrectionist militia? Absolutely. But that’s the point. Appeasing bullies by effectively shutting down a live event Antifa specifically wanted to shut down gave them an enormous victory, which they immediately celebrated with exuberant online posts.

The correct, courageous thing to do was for this prestigious institution of higher education to stand behind their students who’d been threatened by criminals bent on violently disrupting a legal, and what should have been, routine event on any college campus.

Perhaps the title of an article Andy Ngo wrote for the New York Post best sums up Dartmouth’s assault against academic integrity. “Antifa thugs win again as Dartmouth cancels my event on far-left violence” (because of far-left violence).