Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was heckled by protesters as he gave a speech Yale University last night.
The interruption began when Pompeo discussed an individual who had described him as the ‘worst Secretary of State in history.’
It was the perfect cue for one of the hecklers to get up from his seat yelling, ‘Yeah, you’re right. You are the worst Secretary of State in history.’
After the first heckler was removed from the room by security, they were quickly followed by two more protestors who were each seated around the auditorium.
One heckler yelled how he was from the ‘deep state’, ‘destroying this country’, a ‘swamp monster’ while another said he was the ’embodiment of evil’.
Some members of the audience booed and jeered the hecklers while others clapped as Pompeo attempted to have a civil conversation with the disruptor.
Mike Pompeo was interrupted during a speech at Yale by three protesters as he recalled an incident where someone described him as the ‘worst Secretary of State in history’
Pompeo was at the William F. Buckley, Jr. Program event ‘to promote intellectual diversity’ on Yale’s campus
The initial interruption came when he described how he had been spoken to in the past
Pompeo was at speaking to promote ‘intellectual diversity’ on the Connecticut campus.
The 58-year-old who served under former President Donald Trump, spoke of what he perceived to be threats to the American way of life and recalled Trump’s ‘America First’ ideology.
Pompeo said the hecklers did an ‘enormous disservice to colleagues and peers’ by shouting.
‘It’s too bad that they didn’t come and listen and make an argument instead of noise,’ Pompeo said. ‘They just wanted to scream… that’s not the finest traditions of our country.’
A group of three protestors who were situated at various parts of the auditorium yelled out
Others who were gathered to hear Pompeo speak took out their cellphones to video the interruption
There were only a few security guards on hand to deal with the disruption
Security were quickly on-hand to escort the protestors from the auditorium
The hecklers stood up and made their voices heard as they attempted to down out Pompeo
At one stage, a heckler blamed him for the 2020 killing Iranian terror leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. military attack
At one stage, a heckler blamed him for the 2020 killing Iranian terror leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. military attack.
Soleimani was the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force.
Pompeo quickly justified the assassination: ‘We saved countless lives by striking Qassem Soleimani,’ he retorted.
‘I’m glad the young people could exercise their First Amendment rights,’ Pompeo said to Fox News. ‘This could only happen in the United States.’
The three protestors, Kynan Thistlethwaite, Jose Vega, and Ben Smith, were soon removed from the venue and Pompeo proceeded with his speech.
The Yale Daily News said the three involved were not affiliated with the university and were removed escorted out ‘as per the University’s policies on freedom of expression.’
The hecklers were drowned out and eventually removed from the event
‘The disruption of Secretary Pompeo’s speech highlights that free speech is in danger across America. This is the latest reminder that more needs to be done to ensure that college campuses are spaces for open debate and discussion,’ Lauren Noble, who organized Pompeo’s attendance at the university said.
‘We owe a special debt of gratitude to Yale police who escorted the protesters out of the event, and to the overwhelming show of support from the audience, who booed and mocked the protesters, and applauded Secretary Pompeo’s even-handed response.’
Pompeo is the second former secretary of state to have visited Yale recently, with Hillary Clinton having spoken about leadership at the Law School last week.
For the most part the audience listened and were respectful towards Pompeo
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was giving a speech at Yale on Thursday night