The University of Florida is bracing for potential violence at a speech by white nationalist leader Richard Spencer. More than 500 law enforcement officers have reported to the Gainesville campus before Thursday afternoon’s event, and Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency, CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports. “We are hoping that this is going to be a non-event. But we are prepared to respond and handle this,” said Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell. “When you get human
beings together on different opinions and then you add emotions to it, you’ve got the recipe for a lot to go wrong.” The school estimates it will spend $600,000 on security for Spencer’s planned speech Thursday. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the government, in this case a public university, cannot charge speakers for security costs. Spencer’s National Policy Institute is paying $10,564 to rent space for the speaking event. READ MORE
