Milo Yiannopoulos has seen a dramatic increase in book sales after the University of California, Berkeley cancelled a scheduled talk by the controversial conservative following violent protests.
As of Friday morning, Yiannopoulos' controversial book, "Dangerous", which won't' be available until March 14, topped the Amazon bestseller list. However, the AP notes that controversy that has driven pre-orders for the brook "has also made promotion unusually complicated." Since December, hundreds of authors have objected to the book deal, and one writer, Roxane Gay, withdrew a book she had planned for Simon & Schuster.
Yiannopoulos, an editor at Breitbart News and vocal Donald Trump supporter, was set to appear at UC Berkeley as part of his book tour. His planned talk sparked violent protests, however, during which demonstrators broke windows and threw smoke bombs and flares. On Wednesday, the school canceled the appearance.
"I have been evacuated from the UC Berkeley campus after violent left-wing protestors tore down barricades, lit fires, threw rocks and Roman candles at the windows and breached the ground floor of the building," Yiannopoulos wrote on his Facebook page.
In a statement, UC Berkeley said it canceled Yiannopoulos' appearance "out of concern for public safety" and condemned "in the strongest possible terms the violence and unlawful behavior that was on display."
In response, President Trump took to Twitter to suggest he'd pull federal funds for blocking free speech and practicing violence on "innocent people". According to Business Insider, UC Berkeley received a whopping $370 million in federal research funding in 2015-2016.
The AP notes that UC Berkeley is the "birthplace of the free-speech movement and has been known for more than a half-century as a bastion of tolerance": "It was not a proud night for this campus," school spokesman Dan Mogulof said, later adding, "We are proud of our history and legacy as the home of the free-speech movement."
Ironically, Berkeley College Republicans reportedly invited him to speak "because we believe there exists a dearth of intellectual diversity on this campus," and "conservative thought is actively repressed."
Yiannopoulos, born in Greece and raised in England, is a controversial figure due to his comments on Muslims, women and others. He has been permanently barred from Twitter for targeting "Ghostbusters" actor and "Saturday Night Live" cast member Leslie Jones. His online shop - which includes the tagline "Muslims suck, our t-shirts don't" - sells hoodies emblazoned with phrases like "White Privilege" and "Fat Shaming Works".
Meanwhile, Yiannopoulos, who identifies himself as an "openly gay Christian," has called himself a "catalyst for change": "American universities should be on notice," he told Business Insider in a text message. "The president is watching. The days you could silence conservative and libertarian voices on campus and still expect to collect their tax money are coming to an end."
He continued: "I am the catalyst for this change. I'm confident Trump and his team are watching closely and will act decisively."
