Letter states UF "will make appropriate efforts to accommodate it in a manner consistent with generally applicable university policies, including important safety and security assessments."

A University of Florida letter sent to Richard Spencer’s attorney Friday says the school will accommodate the alt-right leader and others at a later speaking date, if the group makes a new application to hold an event.

Spencer, a white nationalist and leader of the alt-right movement, was denied a request to speak at the Phillips Center on Aug. 16 after an organizer, Cameron Padgett, reserved the venue for Sept. 12. Padgett, a 23-year-old Georgia State University student, often organizes events for Spencer around the country and Wednesday retained Gainesville-based Attorney Gary Edinger to challenge UF's cancellation.

Edinger, who specializes in First Amendment rights, sent UF a letter Thursday, demanding that the event be allowed to continue. If UF didn’t comply, the demand letter said, the group would file a lawsuit.

Around 10:30 a.m. Friday, UF General Counsel Amy Hass responded to Edinger with a letter of her own.

She wrote that school officials believe a free exchange of ideas is conducive to UF's educational mission. However, the letter says, school officials have reason to believe the event will cause a public safety issue and the decision to cancel the event was a direct response to the violent protest that unfolded in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12. Spencer attended and spoke at the Charlottesville event.

“It was never the intention of the university to permanently bar Mr. Spencer from speaking at an appropriate time and location at one of the university’s dedicated forums,” the letter states. “If Mr. Spencer or the Nation Policy Institute, Inc. makes another formal request for a speaking date and location, we will make appropriate efforts to accommodate it in a manner consistent with generally applicable university policies, including important safety and security assessments.”

The letter also said the university does not consider the exchange to be a settlement negotiation.

Edinger wrote in an email to The Sun Friday that UF's letter "makes all the difference in the world."

"For the first time, UF is acknowledging that its public forums are available to all and that Mr. Spencer will be allowed to speak," he wrote. "That was not the message coming out of UF in previous weeks."

Edinger also wrote that he has responded to UF, saying his clients would consider a change of date if UF officials agree not to change their minds again.

The university released this statement Friday afternoon:

“The university is committed to upholding the First Amendment right to free speech and civil discourse, and we have a history of hosting controversial speakers on campus to this end. We reaffirmed our decision to deny the National Policy Institute’s request, which was for a speaking event on campus Sept. 12, due to concerns about safety following the events in Charlottesville, Va. At this time, we have not been presented with a new request for a future date. However, should that occur, we will use the same careful deliberation and consideration of safety and security factors that we did previously and make that decision accordingly in order to meet our legal obligations."

Contact reporter Andrew Caplan andrew.caplan@gvillesun.com or on Twitter @AACaplan.