Milo Yiannopoulos at the Young British Heritage Society Launch Event In London
Milo Yiannopoulos at the Young British Heritage Society Launch Event In London Image courtesy of Barcroft Media

Tuesday, January 24, 10:04 a.m. The 34-year man who was shot at the Milo Yiannopoulos demonstration on Friday night at UW is a Seattle-based computer-security engineer, according to an article in the Seattle Times. In the article, Dukes’ lawyer stated that he was at the event to protest Yiannopoulos, and “wishes to express his empathy for the person who shot him.”

The Times also discovered that the alleged shooter had posted to Yiannopoulos’ Facebook page about an hour before the shooting:

“Hey Milo,” the 29-year-old former UW student reportedly posted to Yiannopoulos’ Facebook page at 7:24 p.m. “im outside in line to your UW event.

“I got sucker punched (he was a bit limp wristed) and someone jacked my #MAGA hat,” he said, referring to the ubiquitous red and white “Make America Great Again” caps worn by supporters of President Trump.

“Anyway for me to get a replacement signed by you?” the man asked.

The Seattle Times has not released the name of the alleged shooter because he has not been charged with a crime.

Monday, January 23, 12:56 p.m. The name of the 34-year old man who was shot in the abdomen at the University of Washington protest against Breitbart writer Milo Yiannopoulos on Friday night has not been released yet.

However, his condition is improving. From the Seattle Times:

The condition of the wounded 34-year-old man improved from critical to serious Sunday, according to Susan Gregg at Harborview Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. Gregg said the man, whose name was not released, remained in the Intensive Care Unit, but was breathing on his own. His condition was unchanged Monday morning.

The Industrial Workers of the World General Defense Committee has also released a statement about the victim and are currently raising funds for his medical expenses.

According to a news release from the Seattle Police Department on Saturday afternoon, a suspect, along with one other individual who was involved in the incident, turned himself in to University of Washington Police on Saturday morning. The two were released pending further investigation.

University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce released a statement on Saturday denouncing the violence, and defending the University’s choice to allow Yiannopoulos to speak:

In the weeks leading up to the event, I received calls and emails from many who wanted this event canceled, some of which cited the potential for disruption and conflict. My team and I consulted extensively with UWPD and Seattle Police beforehand, and while no credible threats were received, I gave serious consideration to the calls and emails and consulted with legal scholars and the UW division of the Attorney General’s Office.

So why did I allow the event to go on? First, there is the legal right of our student groups to invite speakers, even a controversial one whose message is anathema to many, including me. We are bound by the law. But beyond that, canceling the event would have sent the message that a risk of disruption or conflict can be used to overwhelm our rights. That would empower those on the extremes willing to resort to such tactics. And while canceling this event would have meant canceling a speech by someone whose views I personally find repulsive, the next time it could be a speaker whose views are more in line with mine, but anathema to someone else. Then there would be silence, with all the real discussion happening underground where arguments could not be examined, or critiqued openly.

Read the full statement here.

The Stranger reached out to the University of Washington College Republicans, the organizers of the event, for comment and are awaiting their reply.

And here is a video posted yesterday on Reddit of the shooting (victim is represented by the red line and alleged shooter is the yellow line):

(HT to Ana Sofia Knauf for the video link).