Edward Snowden will appear via live video chat at the University of Colorado on Feb. 16.

Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor, is best known for leaking classified documents about the government’s surveillance programs. He lives in Russia and is facing several federal charges in the U.S., including theft of government property and unauthorized communication of national defense information.

The event will be moderated live by Ron Suskind, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former Wall Street Journal reporter. Audience members will be able to ask Snowden questions.

The event will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. inside Macky Auditorium on the Boulder campus, which seats 2,000 people.

Public tickets, which cost $20, go on sale Feb. 1 at colorado.edu/macky.

Tickets will be sold to CU students for $2 and to faculty and staff for $10. Those CU tickets will be sold at a table at the University Memorial Center starting Feb. 1 and an ID is required.

Snowden recently appeared on video at the University of Iowa, Princeton University and Stanford University.

The Distinguished Speakers Board, which is funded with student fees, is paying $56,000 to a U.S.-based speakers bureau for the appearance by Snowden and Suskind, a figure that also covers travel costs, CU officials said.

For more information about the event, or event accommodations, contact the Distinguished Speakers Board at dsbchair@gmail.com or visit the group’s Facebook page or the group’s website.