Milo Yiannopoulos to descend on Federal Parliament with Senator David Leyonhjelm
CONTROVERSIAL right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos will have more security when he speaks at Parliament House today despite attempts to ban him.
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CONTROVERSIAL right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos will speak at Parliament House in Canberra today despite an attempt by the Greens to ban him.
Yiannopoulos will speak in the exclusive private dining rooms at 11am at the invitation of crossbench senator David Leyonhjelm.
Media, politicians and staffers have been invited to attend.
Extra security measures are expected to be in place when he arrives. A fight broke out between his supporters and protesters at Yiannopoulos’s event in Melbourne on Monday and police were forced to use pepper spray.
Senator Leyonhjelm flagged security arrangements are likely to be beefed up for the visit.
“I wouldn’t call myself a disciple of him by any means,” Senator Leyonhjelm told AAP, adding he didn’t agree with all his controversial views. He expects Yiannopoulos to embark on an “outrage campaign” to stir up the politically correct.
MORE: Violence erupts as Milo Yiannopoulos arrives in Melbourne
“I’m expecting to be amused more than anything,” Senator Leyonhjelm said. Yiannopoulos defended his right to free speech, saying his aim is to entertain, challenge and educate.
“I may not be to your taste and that’s OK, don’t send your kids to my shows, but I am to plenty of peoples’ tastes,” he told Sky News.
“What they leave with... isn’t ‘he’s so rude and tells fat jokes’... what they leave with is ‘I never even considered that’.”
Last month, Greens senators attempted to ban the self-described “one man wrecking crew” and “internet supervillain” from speaking at Parliament given his views on women, transgender people and Muslims.
Yiannopoulos —who called former prime minister Julia Gillard “a prick” and Tony Abbott “ballsy” last week — said he was flattered by the attempt to ban him but accused the left-wing party of trying to block free speech.
His Parliament House stop comes halfway through his official Troll Academy Tour of Australia.
After Canberra, he is going to Sydney and the Gold Coast later this week.
He has sold more than 10,000 tickets nationwide.
Earlier this year, the British-born, US-based commentator resigned from Breitbart News after he seemingly suggested it was ok for older men to sleep with young teenage boys.
He later issued a rare apology.
Yiannopoulos was also banned from Twitter in 2016 after he made a series of racist tweets regarding Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones.
Originally published as Milo Yiannopoulos to descend on Federal Parliament with Senator David Leyonhjelm