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Therese Purcell: Buffalo University student 'hunted down' by mob for inviting Allen West to speak

Purcell said she was 'hunted down' by a mob screaming 'no justice, no peace,' for inviting black Republican Allen West to speak on how he overcame racism

Therese Purcell, a University of Buffalo student and the president of the Young Americans for Freedom, said she was "hunted down" by a mob screaming "no justice, no peace," after she invited black Republican Lt. Col. Allen West to speak on how he overcame racism. The incident happened after a Q&A session at an event on Thursday, April 7, called 'America Is Not Racist—Why American Values are Exceptional.'

Purcell said protests erupted at the full event, and an angry mob started chasing her. She told Fox News, "I was really afraid for my life since they physically assaulted my friend, and like I said, they were screaming, 'no peace'. I don't think they were going to do anything remotely peaceful. They were a very angry mob, and they were clearly saying that they were trying to chase me, that they wanted to capture me. So I'm afraid of what would have happened if I wasn't able to hide from them."

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"It was a really crazy event that we were trying to bring a Black voice to campus to talk about these issues of racism and American exceptionalism, and while they were screaming that we were trying to silence Black voices, we were actually trying to bring this conversation to campus," Purcell added.

"I didn't think it was going to be as controversial to say on an American campus that American values are a good thing. American values are worth protecting. I don't think they like Colonel West's message that he did experience racism but he overcame that, and he decided not to be a victim and America gave him that equality of opportunity that many other countries don't. I think these people like to see themselves as the victim, and his message fundamentally challenged that," she explained.

The students inside the building began protesting and yelling, and hundreds of others who had gathered outside followed suit. "While they were screaming that we were trying to silence black voices, we were actually trying to bring this conversation to campus. But instead of asking questions, they resorted to violence," Purcell said.

The threats escalated so quickly that the police had to escort West out of the building. Purcell revealed that she was pulled into the bathroom by a friend, and they called 911, but the mob continued yelling that they needed to find her. West told Fox News, "I was born 61 years ago in a black-only hospital. And I grew up in the same inner-city Atlanta neighborhood that produced Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. My elementary school was right across the street from Ebenezer Baptist Church."

"So if you want to talk about race and American exceptionalism, why shouldn't a black man that was born 61 years ago in a blacks-only hospital, rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant colonel when his dad was a corporal in the segregated Army, became a member of the United States House of Representatives. But these kids want to be victims. They don't want to hear that. They're very militant, they're very radical, and I'm glad that we exposed them," West concluded.