David J. Phillip / AP

Spencer is president of white supremacist think tank National Policy Institute and a leader of the alt-right movement. He has called for "peaceful ethnic cleansing" of non-white Americans.

Spencer rose to prominence during the annual NPI conference in November in Washington, DC, when he gave a speech full of Nazi-inspired language, greeting attendees with a salute of "Hail Trump! Hail our people! Hail victory!" and calling the media "Lügenpresse" (essentially the Nazi term for "fake news"). He also found viral fame when he got punched in the face on Inauguration Day.

The April 18 speech by Spencer was not planned by the Alabama university. Rather, Spencer reportedly paid $700 to use the space, as well as security provided by Auburn Police Division, a university spokesperson told al.com.

"We are a public university and our meeting space is for rent," Mike Clardy, a spokesperson for Auburn, told the news website. "Auburn supports the constitutional right to free speech, so we don't make decisions on who can rent based on content."

In a statement, university officials say they "strongly deplore" Spencer's views and "encourage the campus community to respond to speech they find objectionable with their own views in civil discourse and to do so with respect and inclusion."