ACT for America sets its sights on college campuses with upcoming speaking tour
The anti-Muslim hate group ACT for America聽is taking its message to college campuses. ACT鈥檚 lead activism strategist, Scott Presler, is scheduled to speak at the University of Akron on Oct. 10. This appears to be the first stop on a that Presler has lined up, and is part of a greater effort by hate groups to push their agendas onto students.
The event is being 聽by the Akron chapter of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative student group present on high school and college campuses. Presler is scheduled to speak on 鈥淩adical Islam and Dictatorships.鈥� ACT for America has an expansive chapter network throughout the country, making it the largest anti-Muslim group in the nation.
ACT鈥檚 founder and president Brigitte Gabriel has previously stated, 鈥淚slam has created and unleashed an uncontrollable wave of hatred and rage on the world鈥� and said that terrorist attacks are the 鈥減urest form of鈥� the religion. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not radical Islam,鈥� she claims. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what Islam is at its core.鈥� Gabriel recently spoke聽at the 2018 Values Voter Summit, an annual confab put on by the anti-LGBT hate group Family Research Council.
Presler was the 聽of ACT鈥檚 鈥淢arch Against Sharia鈥� rallies in June 2017. The nationwide events attracted聽various factions of the radical right, including white nationalists, neo-Nazis and antigovernment extremists 鈥� all of whom were 聽by anti-Muslim animus.
Presler鈥檚 speaking engagement appears to represent a burgeoning relationship with TPUSA, a group that has had its 聽regarding racists in its ranks. Charlie Kirk, TPUSA鈥檚 founder and president, at ACT鈥檚 national conference held Sept.聽4-5. Following Kirk鈥檚 speech, Gabriel spoke of a growing partnership between the two groups.
锘库�淸The] deal that we made with [TPUSA],鈥� Gabriel said, 鈥渋s basically take these young students who graduate out of college and plug them into ACT for America chapters.鈥�
She also claimed ACT is working with the conservative student group to intimidate so-called 鈥渓eftist鈥� professors. 鈥淲e are working with [TPUSA] 鈥� they identify the professors,鈥� she said, referring to TPUSA鈥檚 professor watch list, 鈥渁nd we turn the fire under our chapter network to call their universities and get the professors fired.鈥�
ACT and other hate groups have tried to gain a foothold on college campuses. In 2014, ACT 聽student chapters as a 鈥渃ounterweight鈥� to the Muslim Student Association (MSA). Gabriel has engaged in conspiracy theories about the MSA, them a Muslim Brotherhood front group set up to 鈥渄estroy America.鈥� The anti-immigrant hate group Center for Immigration Studies聽also recently 聽that its staff is available to come speak on campus.
The David Horowitz Freedom Center, another anti-Muslim hate group, has long 聽on colleges and universities, positing them to be breeding grounds for leftist radicals. The group is responsible for sponsoring provocative events on campus like 鈥淚slamo-Fascism Awareness Week.鈥� Horowitz鈥檚 Freedom Center is also behind efforts to on college campuses across the country. David Horowitz is often invited to speak at schools, where he has been known to berate and argue with students.
Other hate groups like the neo-Nazi Vanguard America聽have also 聽on college campuses, with one in particular asking to 鈥淚magine a Muslim-free America鈥� and featuring an image of the World Trade Center towers.
