We spoke to the man trying to stop Richard Spencer

Mitch Emerson has been involved with activism since he was a child. Now, Emerson, 31, is the man behind the protests against Richard Spencer.

When President Fuchs announced the possibility of Spencer speaking on campus, Emerson created the Facebook event “No Nazis at UF” to organize protests. The event has over 2,000 people registered as going and over 6,000 that are interested. There are regular posts providing updates about the situation. The page states that it is “a coalition of students and community organizers committed to anti-racism on campus.”

After initially rejecting Spencer’s appeal to hold a rally at the UF campus, the Office of Public Affairs sent out an email stating that they were required to offer the party a reasonable date and time, regardless of the security threat they had previously pointed out.

While the university has continuously denounced what Spencer and his organization stand for, they have said that the date for his arrival is October 19. University officials have been working closely with state, local, and federal law enforcement to make sure appropriate precautions are taken to ensure the safety of students and staff for this event. As of right now the cost of security for the event is reportedly $500,000.

After the rallies in Charlottesville, the true extent of how dangerous these events can be was shown.

“I think the Alt-Right has exposed underlying racism.” Emerson said, “Rather than talking about ‘welfare queens’ or ‘Food-Stamp President Obama’, now they are just saying the N-word and chanting ‘Jews will not replace us.’”

The increasing tensions across the country over what is considered free speech versus hate speech is the basis for the outrage over Spencer’s possible rally. “I’m all for free speech, but this isn’t someone making an argument that evolution isn’t real or even arguing against the US constitutional system. They are coming to say, “If you aren’t white you need to leave the U.S. You’re inferior,” Emerson said.

UF officials say they will not tolerate any hate speech, but the language in Spencer’s rallies has been deemed as inherently violent and has encouraged people to act on this violence.

The Gainesville Coalition is working closely with Emerson to organize a protest that ensures the safety of all participants. The Civic Media Center will host a sign making event to prepare for the protest on the 14.

Emerson has been working on organizing carpools and buses across the state for protesters preparing for the arrival of the White Nationalist leader. He will be joining any local students and organizations that have already planned protests upon his arrival in Gainesville. Emerson states, “I just have empathy, and I think social justice is worth fighting for.”