Updated at 6:15 p.m. with new information and comments from event organizer.

Texas A&M University on Monday canceled an upcoming rally that promoted an appearance of "alt-right" figure Richard Spencer on Sept. 11, citing safety concerns after an organizer linked the A&M rally to the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

In a news release, A&M said that the university and law enforcement allowed Spencer to speak on campus last December while taking precautions to ensure a peaceful event.

"However, in this case, circumstances and information relating to the event have changed and the risks of threat to life and safety compel us to cancel the event," the university's statement said.

The event was to be organized by a White Lives Matter group that had previously brought Dallas native Spencer to the campus in December, according to reports. Event organizer Preston Wiginton said he was looking into legal action over the cancellation.

Texas A&M officials said that the university changed its policy after December's protest so that an outside individual or group had to have the sponsorship of a university-sanctioned group. No organization agreed to sponsor the September event.

1 / 9Richard Spencer motioned for calm as supporters and opponents scuffled in front of the stage while he spoke at the Memorial Student Center at Texas A&M University on Dec. 6, 2016.(Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer) 2 / 9Richard Spencer addresses the media during a news conference before his speech at Texas A&M University on Dec. 6. (Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer) 3 / 9Supporters hold up Donald Trump "Make America Great Again" hats as Richard Spencer speaks at the Memorial Student Center at Texas A&M University on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, in College Station, Texas. Spencer, a Dallas native and a self-professed founder of the "alt right" movement, will speak at the campus at the invitation of a white nationalist and former student. The university hosted the Aggies United event at Kyle Field, the university's football stadium, to overlap with Spencer's speech. (Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer) 4 / 9A protestor walks around the room in a clown suitas Richard Spencer speaks at the Memorial Student Center at Texas A&M University on Tuesday. (Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer) 5 / 9Protesters stand silently with their fists raised as Richard Spencer speaks at the Memorial Student Center. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 6 / 9Rabbi Matt Rosenberg, the executive director and campus rabbi of Hillel at Texas A&M, listens as Richard Spencer addresses the media. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 7 / 9Richard Spencer checks his watch as he addresses the media. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 8 / 9Opponents protest as Richard Spencer speaks at the Memorial Student Center at Texas A&M University. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 9 / 9A protester stands along a wall with police as Richard Spencer speaks. ((Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer))

State Rep. John Raney, R-College Station, told reporters in Austin that the event was canceled after concerns about hate messages on Facebook and several reports of people saying they'd bring their weapons.

Citing Charlottesville

A&M's actions came after emotional speeches in the Texas House and Senate decrying racism in the wake of the events in Charlottesville. Some lawmakers urged A&M Chancellor John Sharp to cancel the event.

"With no university facilities afforded him, he chose instead to plan his event outdoors for September 11 at Rudder Plaza, in the middle of campus, during a school day, with a notification to the media under the headline 'Today Charlottesville, Tomorrow Texas A&M,'" the university's statement read.

"Linking the tragedy of Charlottesville with the Texas A&M event creates a major security risk on our campus. Additionally, the daylong event would provide disruption to our class schedules and to student, faculty and staff movement."

The news came after this weekend's deadly "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., where white nationalists were protesting a plan to remove the statue of a Confederate general and a vehicle ran into a group of counterprotesters, killing one woman and injuring at least 19.

Organizer response

Wiginton told The Dallas Morning News that the group's First Amendment rights had been violated.

"The Supreme Court has ruled many times that free speech can't be denied because of the threat of violence," he said.

Wiginton said he planned the September event months ago, before he knew of the Charlottesville event. After what happened, he said he could understand the cause for concern but said that shouldn't prevent his rally.

"Of course there's a cause for concern, but that doesn't mean that we get to have our rights violated," he said. "You're telling me that you can't get police there to protect us from the leftists? Because the leftists are the ones who always bring the violence."

Wiginton said there was a double standard at Texas A&M because the school welcomed a Black Lives Matter event in the fall but students wanted to form a human chain to prevent his group from gathering.

"What does that say? It says white lives don't matter," he said.

December event

At the December event, Spencer told a crowd of about 400 that America "belongs to white men."

"Texas is a wonderful place to live, and there are a lot of white men's bones in the ground to make that happen," he said then. "This country does belong to white people — culturally, socially and politically."

Gov. Greg Abbott's spokesman issued a statement saying the office has been working with the university to "to prevent the type of hate-filled event that we saw in Charlottesville. Governor Abbott's top goal is to ensure the safety and security of Texans and Texas A&M students."

Staff Write Robert T. Garrett in Austin contributed to this report.