A college town in the US state of Florida has been put on lockdown ahead of a speech by an organizer of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned deadly in August.
Hundreds of police officers were deployed at the University of Florida in Gainesville on Thursday to guard against possible unrest over Richard Spencer’s speech, which is expected to draw thousands.
The streets surrounding the University of Florida were blocked off to traffic on Thursday, and classes have been canceled.
State officials are so fearful of disturbances that Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency Monday ahead of Spencer’s speech.
Protesters opposed to Spencer’s arrival have unfurled signs on several campus building that read “Love, not hate.”