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Activists Plan To Protest Barr's Visit To Notre Dame

United States Attorney General William Barr
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney General William Barr

Students and activists are planning a protest in response to U.S. Attorney General William Barr speaking at a private event at the University of Notre Dame Law School on Friday. Protesters are unhappy with Barr’s role in the handling of the whistleblower complaint.

The protest is called “Whistles for Whistleblowers” in reference to a whistleblower complaint that spurred an impeachment inquiry. Protesters plan to pass out whistles and blow them at a rally outside when Barr is scheduled to speak.    

Andrew Cary is the Notre Dame graduate student organizing the protest. He says he was surprised the university would be giving a platform to Barr, who he says doesn’t share the values of the community.

“I fully support everyone’s right to speak at campuses or wherever, but we have a right to speak out and voice our differences as well,” Cary says. 

The dean of the law school, G. Marcus Cole, sent a letter to students and staff Wednesday evening and said the school will “neither endorse nor condemn invited speakers.” He added that both speakers and protestors should be free to speak.

Contact Justin at  jhicks@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @Hicks_JustinM.

Justin Hicks is a workforce reporter for IPB News based at WVPE in Elkhart. He comes to Indiana by way of New York. He has a master's degree from the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University and earned a Bachelor of Music Degree from Appalachian State University where he played trumpet. He first learned about Elkhart, Indiana, because of the stamp on his brass instrument indicating where it was produced. Justin was born and raised in Mt. Olive, North Carolina. He currently lives in South Bend with his dog, Charlotte.
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