A protester who heckled and ran towards a Reform UK guest speaker has admitted on social media that he intended to throw a shoe at him.
During the “Democracy in Action” event hosted by Warwick PPE Society, Alex Prepelita heckled and ran towards council leader Cllr George Finch.
The first-year Warwick student was promptly tackled to the ground by community safety staff.
Prior to the event, Alex shared a poll on his Instagram story, asking: “Should I throw a shoe at George Finch at the PPE Soc Reform event?”, which received an overwhelming majority of “Yes” votes.
Alex told The Warwick Tab “the poll obtained 92 per cent support from a cross-section of multiple years, gaining around 400 yes votes at the time of the protest”.
After the event, Alex posted: “GUYS I’M FREE. Thanks for all the support messages over the past few hours, I can assure you that I’m okay now! And thanks to all the protesters outside who continued after 5pm – you guys are legends, keep up the great work”.
After rushing towards the Reform council leader, Alex was escorted from the venue.
Cllr George Finch retorted that he had “lost control” and “should take a chill pill”.
While the event was taking place, at least twelve protestors picketed both entrances to the building. This included SU VP for Education, Ananya Sreekumar, who spoke on a megaphone and told arriving students that she expected “better from our Warwick community”, describing the high attendance as “shameful”.
With all 393 tickets for the event sold, and an additional waiting list of over 130, Warwick PPE faced criticism for hosting the event.
On the morning of the event, which took place on Wednesday 21st January, Warwick SU officers issued a joint statement raising concerns about Reform UK’s “dangerous, far-right rhetoric”, and saying that they will “defend students’ right to protest and challenge George Finch on his views, and support any student who chooses to do so at the event”.
It is unclear whether Alex, or the other protestors, will be sanctioned for their actions.
via rootesdebauchery
A Warwick PPE society spokesperson said: “We want to reiterate that we don’t endorse the views of those we bring in. Having hosted academics and politicians on the other side of the political spectrum, such as Zarah Sultana, PPE Society remains impartial and views free speech as an utmost priority”.
“We gave students the opportunity to question and challenge an elected official. We believe democracy is about discussion and debate, not silence. That was the aim of the event and believe this was carried out successfully”.
A Warwick University spokesperson said: “The university managed the event in line with its legal duty to protect freedom of speech. Free speech will be vigorously protected at Warwick, as long as discussion and activities are occurring within a framework of law, respect and safety.
“Cllr Finch was invited as a guest speaker by the Warwick PPE society, in line with the external speaker policy of the Students’ Union which operates independently of the university.
“Following a disruption at the event, an individual was removed by our Community Safety Team for the safety of everyone at the event. The event concluded as scheduled”.
George Finch and Warwick Student Union have been contacted for comment.
Featured image via Instagram @rootesdebauchery
