Richard Spencer Banned From Charlottesville University After Last Year’s Unite the Right Protest

By Luke Barnes, ThinkProgress

29 October 18

UVA president Jim Ryan said the ban against the white nationalist was an effort at "ensuring the safety of our community."

hite nationalist Richard Spencer has been barred from his alma matter after the University Virginia issued trespass warnings against him and nine other white nationalists who participated in last year’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA.

The no-trespass orders, which are valid for four years, were announced after the UVA police department concluded a year-long investigation to identify individuals who either committed or conspired to commit acts of violence or aggression on University grounds.

“We have drawn a distinction between free speech and conduct that is aimed to intimidate others and promote violence,” UVA Chief of Police Tommye Sutton said in a statement.

“Such conduct and intimidation will not be tolerated.” Spencer said that he know immediate plans to return to UVA and engage in “activism” there.

According to police, Spencer was banned after taking credit for “defeating” counter-protesters and organizing a torch-lit march across campus which culminated in him giving a speech next to a statue of Thomas Jefferson.

Among the others also banned from campus are four members of the white supremacist Rise Above Movement, a group from California who hit with federal riot charges earlier this month.

On Wednesday, that group’s leader, Robert Rundo, was indicted on federal conspiracy charges. Rundo had initially fled the country for Central America, before being sent back to California where he was promptly arrested at Los Angeles International Airport.

It’s been a tough year for Richard Spencer ever since the Unite the Right rally made him an infamous figure. His nationwide college speaking tour imploded thanks to counter-protesters and poor attendance, has been de-platformed from multiple online fundraising websites and is staring down a lawsuit against him an other neo-Nazis who attended the Charlottesville march.  In July he was also kicked out of Poland after the European Union banned him from travelling to the EU.

On Tuesday, it also emerged that Richard Spencer’s wife was filing for divorce, accusing him of being abusive towards her. In court documents first obtained by Buzzfeed News, Spencer’s wife Nina Kouprianova alleged multiple instance of physical abuse. Among them was an incident where Spencer smashed Kouprianova’s head into the floor, and another when he beat her while she was carrying Spencer’s second child. Spencer also allegedly kept a loaded weapon in his house which was accessible by children.

In a statement to Buzzfeed News, Spencer said that he “disputed many of her assertions” and added that he “denies each, every and all allegations.”