Protests expected as white nationalist Richard Spencer speaks at Texas A&M

Young was critical of white nationalism – a creed that critics say veers into white supremacy and anti-Semitism – while saying that differences strengthen a community.

Tensions could run high Tuesday night for a planned speech by an alleged white nationalist on the campus of Texas A&M, and many have already planned a counter rally.

Spencer is set to speak at the invitation of the ex-student, Preston Wiginton, who as a member of the public can rent meeting space available on campus. For NPR News, I’m Florian Martin in College Station, Texas.

“We need to be willing to criticize Donald Trump”, said Spencer.

“What I see is that Donald Trump is a kind of arrow”, Spencer said Tuesday.

He has also spoken of a desire for a full ban on immigration in the future.

Wiginton does not believe that certain groups can assimilate into American society, pointing particularly to immigrants from Somalia.

Young said he’s been heartened by the campus response against Spencer’s views and the “resounding affirmation that they do not represent the Aggie values we espouse and to which we aspire….” “The alt-right is a new beginning”.

Spencer told Texas A&M students the viral video of the Washington DC gathering was “a desire by the media to slander us with one piece of 30-second footage”, according to CNN. Spencer held the magazine up, smiled and gave a thumbs up.

Protests outside of the building and around campus were cleared by police as of 10 p.m. Another protester stood alongside Spencer’s rostrum dressed as a clown. Spencer emerged as a national figure and a leader of the Alt-Right over the last few years. He also dismissed the idea that America is a nation of rights as “silliness”.

Spencer, who attended an exclusive prep school in Dallas, went on to describe the lessons that he took about how Texas was settled from his favorite movie, “The Searchers”, which stars John Wayne in the role of a racist former Confederate soldier.

“At the end of the day, America belongs to white men”.

Trump has said repeatedly that he disavows support from the alt-right and white supremacists. This was widely seen mimicking the behavior of Adolf Hitler’s supporters in Nazi Germany.

The Associated Press reported that about 400 people were in the room where Spencer was speaking. He said that he was concerned at the attention given to the “alt-right” leader, who calls for the creation of a white “ethno-state”.