Controversial Trump aide coming to UNC Monday, protests expected

A former national security aide to President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at UNC on Monday, according to the UNC College Republicans.

The group posted on its Facebook page that Sebastian Gorka, who was also an editor for the conservative Breitbart News website, is scheduled to speak at UNC-Chapel Hill at 6 p.m. Nov. 13. The event is scheduled take place in Room 100 in the Genome Science Building, located on 250 Bell Tower Road.

Gorka is expected to talk about US-Israel relations and the state of Middle Eastern affairs under the Trump administration, according to Will Rierson, chairman of the UNC College Republicans. Rierson said the Republicans are hosting the event in conjunction with other groups, including Christians United for Israel and Turning Point USA.

“We kind of stumbled into the opportunity of hosting Dr. Gorka, and as a coalition of student groups we agreed that his visit would offer unique insights to current U.S. foreign policy,” Rierson said. “We hope that it creates meaningful conversation around the U.S.-Israel relationship, and helps bring information about the Trump presidency.”

Gorka left the White House in late August, saying in a letter published on The Federalist website that "the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will 'Make America Great Again,' have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months."

The New York Times reported that Gorka was a divisive figure while in the White House, saying that “the alpha males are back” after Trump won the election. He has defended Trump’s travel bans and said violence is a fundamental part of Islam.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, known as CAIR, welcomed Gorka’s resignation. Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR’s national communications director, on Monday expressed concern about Gorka’s scheduled appearance in Chapel Hill.

“Sebastian Gorka’s extremist and Islamophobic views, along with his reported associations with racist and anti-Semitic groups, should disqualify him from receiving an invitation to speak at any institution of higher learning,” Hooper said.

Members of the Indivisible Triangle Daily Call to Action group are planning to gather outside the the Genome Science Building around 5:30p.m. Monday to protest Gorka’s lecture, according to a statement from the organization.

This story was originally published November 6, 2017 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Controversial Trump aide coming to UNC Monday, protests expected."