‘Exposing Corruption with James O’Keefe’ event rescheduled due to resource concerns

Turning Point USA’s Pitt chapter rescheduled their event, “Exposing Corruption with James O’Keefe,” from this Friday, Nov. 3, to Thursday, Nov. 30, to provide adequate resources, according to University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer.

“In partnership with student event organizers and after assessing the anticipated volume of activity on campus for Family Weekend, this event is being rescheduled for a date later in the month when adequate support resources are available across campus,” Stonesifer said.

Liliana Orozco, chapter president of Turning Point at Pitt, said she understands the University’s concerns about the timing of the event.

“Pitt came to us with a concern that it’s Family Weekend and they might not have enough security or resources for us because there’s so many events going on,” Orozco said. “They were very generous to push everything out of the way for us to select a date and make sure that venue was cleared for us.” 

O’Keefe, known for his self-proclaimed title as a “guerrilla journalist,” is the next in a list of speakers Turning Point has brought to campus that have prompted some student backlash. 

These safety and resource concerns come after a protest outside of Turning Point’s Michael Knowles debate turned into a “public safety emergency” last year. Multiple on-campus buildings were closed as the protests escalated, and two people were indicted on charges related to smoke bombs and fireworks that were let off in front of the event.