Jared Taylor, a white nationalist known as the “godfather of the alt-right,” will speak at Salisbury University on April 29, two months after his talk was postponed due to safety concerns.

The Maryland Federation of College Republicans is hosting the talk, titled, “Can the American Race Problem Be Solved?”

Salisbury administrators had required the group to reschedule after its advertisements for a March visit from Taylor caused controversy. Leaders said at the time that the level of anticipated attendance and counter-demonstrations meant the university needed more time to prepare.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a group dedicated to free speech rights on college campuses, objected to the postponement and wrote to Salisbury leaders last month, asserting that the university was “obligated” to put on the event.

“No matter how offensive some may consider his beliefs to be, Taylor’s right to speak is undoubtedly protected by the First Amendment, and Salisbury students have a First Amendment right to associate with him for the purposes of hearing what he has to say,” the group’s letter states.

Taylor, who could not be immediately reached for comment, was an early mentor to white nationalist figure Nick Fuentes. Taylor founded the white nationalist New Century Foundation and previously published American Renaissance, a white nationalist magazine.

“Blacks and whites are different,” reads a 2005 issue, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. “When blacks are left entirely to their own devices, Western civilization — any kind of civilization — disappears.”

Salisbury officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Salisbury is now charging the Maryland Federation of College Republicans “approximately $3,500″ in security fees, according to Colin McEvers, a student who is organizing the event. He said he’s accepting donations to cover the cost.

Other Maryland campuses have charged security fees for groups who host controversial speakers. In October, for example, the University of Maryland, College Park charged its chapter of Turning Point USA $148 for security related to a talk with Cabot Phillips, senior editor at The Daily Wire, a conservative news outlet.

Despite the fee, McEvers said, he’s eager to host the event, which will include a Q&A with Taylor after his talk.

“There were many left leaning folks in the community who mistakenly celebrated the fact that the event was postponed, confidently asserting that it wouldn’t happen,” McEvers wrote in a statement to The Banner. “Quite a shock for them, I’m sure.”

Taylor has had a “prominent role in mainstreaming white supremacist narratives,” according to Jon Lewis, who researches domestic terrorism and white supremacy at George Washington University.

“People like Taylor put a softer face on neo-Nazism,” Lewis said. “But in reality he’s a white nationalist and a white supremacist.”

The event previously drew backlash from the Maryland Republican Party, which was not involved in organizing it, according to a statement released last month by the party’s chairwoman, Nicole Beus Harris.

“There is no place for racism in our party,” she wrote. “We unequivocally condemn the advertised event and the speaker’s despicable views.”

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