White supremacist Richard Spencer will speak at Michigan State after all

White supremacist Richard Spencer will speak for two hours on Michigan State University's campus on March 5, the university and Spencer's lawyers have agreed. That is the first day of MSU's spring break.

The agreement came in a settlement of a lawsuit filed by attorney Kyle Bristow against MSU after it denied Spencer's representatives space to speak on campus.

"This is a resounding First Amendment victory for the alt-right," Bristow told the Free Press on Thursday. "Left-wing censorship of right-wing ideas in academia is unacceptable.

“Richard Spencer gets to speak and MSU gets to pay” the cost associated with security.

“The fundamental right of Americans to think and speak freely is nonnegotiable.”

According to the terms of the agreement:

Spencer will speak from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. March 5 in the auditorium in the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education.

Spencer will pay the university $1,650 for the rental.

MSU will provide police and security for the event. Spencer's group won't pay anything toward it.

MSU will set up a ticketing process for the event and control entry to the event.

Spencer's group will provide insurance for the event.

Spencer's group will not hold any other gathering or event at MSU.

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon issued a statement on the settlement.

"Michigan State is wholly dedicated to freedom of speech, not just as a public institution, but as an institution of higher education. Here, ideas — not people — are meant to clash and to be evaluated based on their merits.

"This agreement was based on the university’s requirement that the event occur on a date and at a venue that minimizes the risk of violence or disruption to campus. The security of our campus community remains our top priority and all appropriate security measures will be taken in connection with the event," Simon said. "Michigan State rejects this group’s divisive and racist messages and remains committed to maintaining a diverse campus and supporting an inclusive, just and democratic society.”

Spencer's group has a similar request pending at the University of Michigan, where President Mark Schlissel has said the university would negotiate with the group for a safe way to allow them on campus.

"After consulting widely with many members of our community, I made the difficult decision to begin discussions with Richard Spencer’s group to determine whether he will be allowed to rent space to speak on the University of Michigan campus. If we cannot assure a reasonably safe setting for the event, we will not allow it to go forward," Schlissel said then. "Let me be clear. U-M has not invited this individual to our campus, nor is anyone in our community sponsoring him."

A U-M spokeswoman told the Free Press earlier this week there was no update to those talks.

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When MSU received the request it initially set aside a room at the Union and was going to charge the group $2,000.

Sixteen days later, Spencer’s request was made public and the response from MSU’s community was swift and overwhelming: Don’t let Spencer on campus.

MSU ultimately denied Spencer's National Policy Institute space to speak on campus, citing safety concerns. Spencer's group then sued MSU in federal court.

A federal judge ordered the two sides into mediation.

Court filings made Thursday show the two sides agreed to the settlement and agreed to dismiss the lawsuit.

Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj