The University of Washington (UW), which isn’t to the left of Cal Berkeley, but is in the same neighborhood, has broken character and decided to cancel a planned 2027 speech on campus by radical Islamist influencer, Israel hater, and all-around leftist Hasan Piker. Most recently, Piker has been linked to Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, serving as the candidate’s ally and supporter at campaign stops, and just one of El-Sayed's BFFs.
In addressing this relationship in PJ Media, David Harsanyi wrote, “No one forced El-Sayed to closely ally with Hasan Piker, a man who believes 3,000 innocent Americans deserved to die on 9/11, who wants the streets to ‘soak in red capitalist blood,’ and who says he holds no patriotic feeling for America but celebrates mass murderers such as Mao Zedong. At this point, even if El-Sayed condemned Piker, which he hasn't, no one should believe it.”
Hasan Piker: “America deserved 9/11. I do not support the United States of America.”
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) August 4, 2026
Currently campaigning with Abdul El-Seyed. pic.twitter.com/LDjizrQgVN
And so here we are. In a statement released by the university on Aug. 7, UW said that the school “is dedicated to the free exchange of ideas, including on controversial topics and involving provocative speakers.”
It added, “After Hasan Piker was announced as a speaker for the 2026-27 Speaker Series, there was a review of the process by which the event was planned. It was determined that that the process for organizing this event did not meet the necessary level of rigor for University-hosted events in the Speaker Series. As a result, this event will not be held.”
Going forward, procedures will be updated to ensure the standards we have for University-hosted events like the Speaker Series are met, particularly so that we can help elevate the level of dialogue on divisive topics during a polarized time in our country.
According to the Jewish News Service (JNS), “not only did the university plan to host the hateful commentator, upon whom it heaped praise in the description of the event, which two of the university’s schools planned to co-host, but the public school had also suggested that attendees pay $10 each for tickets.”
JNS reported that it learned on background from a Washington state lawmaker that “multiple state legislators and groups, including Jewish ones, pressed the university to drop the event.”
A situation of this kind raises a number of issues for conservatives, including free speech. Conservatives are so used to schools such as UW siding with the radicals that this feels like uncharted territory – denying a platform to someone such as Piker. Up until now, the pattern has been for leftist college administrations to not only allow radicals such as Piker to speak, but to suppress any objections. Meanwhile, if a conservative speaker on the same campuses draw controversy, their appearances are often canceled or severely restricted. Often as not, colleges and universities will provide scant security amidst highly charged protests, forcing the conservative organizers to cancel.
In January 2025, a Turning Point USA event called “Protect Women from Men: The Threat of the Trans Agenda” was cut short at UW, after leftist protestors created chaos, set off a fire alarm, forced the evacuation of a campus building, broke a window, and caused other disruptions.
As a result of this most recent cancellation by the university, Piker won’t be able to spew his antisemitic hate, his anti-American attacks, and his pro-radical Islam message.
At the moment, Piker has over 3 million followers on Twitch, nearly 2 million subscribers on YouTube, roughly 1.8 million followers on Instagram, 1.7 million followers on the X platform, and another 1.7 million followers on TikTok.
"Hasan Piker dressed as Mao, brainwashing your kids at college."
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 21, 2026
Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker is facing backlash after speaking at the College Democrats of America convention while wearing a Mao-style suit.
The appearance sparked a wave of criticism online, with opponents… pic.twitter.com/RQsAYBosA3
UW’s decision to cancel the event most likely will trigger a groundswell of fake outrage on the left over matters of free speech, and criticism from the anti-Jewish bloc on Capitol Hill and in the media. UW is about to take a good bit of friendly political fire from longstanding allies, no doubt.
First into the fray was the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which in a post on X recapped UW’s statement about planning process issues, and then wrote, “Public universities can set standards for events. But they can’t use those standards as cover for canceling a speaker because of their views.”
The University of Washington canceled its scheduled Hasan Piker event after the university said the planning process "did not meet the necessary level of rigor."
— FIRE (@TheFIREorg) August 7, 2026
If the decision was based on process — and not public backlash or criticism — @UW should be transparent about what… pic.twitter.com/wJgW4PCCbF
Some conservative free-speech absolutists aren’t going to be throwing any parades for UW, and will likely add their voices to the chorus in much the same way as FIRE has done. But to be such an absolutist ignores the real threat that platforming Piker represents.
He doesn’t just give opinions or make political arguments. Rather, Piker radicalizes unsuspecting kids, mostly. He spreads a level of vitriol and toxicity that can easily lead to violence against his targets.
To start with, the First Amendment covers government censorship, and does not govern whether a university or college is compelled to let anyone who wants to speak there have a platform.
The First Amendment provides no protection to anyone who might incite others to break the law or cause violence. The U.S. Supreme Court made this clear in Brandenburg v. Ohio. The First Amendment does not provide protections for anyone who knowingly supports designated terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, or ISIS. It doesn’t protect those who celebrate attacks on civilians or urge violence against specific ethnic groups.
The common understanding is that universities and event hosts have an obligation to try to prevent physical harm or property damage if such damage is foreseeable. In other words, once violence or the threat of violence enters the picture, the issue isn’t purely one of free-speech rights.
Travis Couture, a Republican Washington state representative, told JNS, “I’m happy that the University of Washington, for literally the first time ever, has made the correct decision to not have an America-hating communist spread his hatred and terrible ideology to young people at our taxpayer-funded universities…Obviously universities are a place for First Amendment free speech, but someone who said that America deserves 9/11 and that capitalist blood should spill in the street should not be someone we are promoting with our tax dollars.”
So, what to make of this? I’d say it’s a net positive for conservatives and for free speech. While Piker has a right to say whatever he wants to say without fear of government censorship or being arrested, he’s not entitled to whatever forums he chooses. In the marketplace of ideas, if the market rejects Piker’s toxic speech, that’s saying something. And don’t for one minute think universities aren’t part of that marketplace.
It’s kind of refreshing that somewhere in UW there was an adult in the room who decided you don’t have the right to radicalize American students against their own country and certain ethnic groups. Piker stands for the very worst of the left, and for once, someone in academia had the guts to tell him, “No.”
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