Philosophers Threatened for Objecting to Talk by Holocaust Denier
Philosophers at St. Olaf College and Carleton College objected when a local pub, The Contented Cow, scheduled conspiracy theorist and Holocaust denier Jim Fetzer to give one four in a series of “CowTalks” on assorted political issues. Alan Rubenstein (Carleton) withdrew from a debate with Fetzer (see update) at the Cow, and St. Olaf professors Gordon Marino, Danny Muñoz-Hutchinson, and Michael Fuerstein emailed the owner of the pub to complain. The owner sent the emails to Fetzer, who posted them online. Predictably, this led to the professors receiving threats and hate mail. According to an article in the Manitou Messenger, “the threats directed at the Carleton professor were serious enough that the FBI became involved. On Jan. 27, the Contented Cow canceled the talks, citing pressure from the community.” (via Cherie Braden)
UPDATE: See the corrections from Anon1 in the comments.
You neglected to mention an important detail – Fetzer is [was, given current evidence?] a philosopher of science with a pretty extensive publication record.
His philosophy of science c.v. is here:
http://www.d.umn.edu/~jfetzer/completecv.html
A few corrections. Fetzer was invited to give FOUR talks by the owner of the pub, on four separate weeks, as part of a “Policy and a Pint” series. After things blew up, the owner first “moved” Fetzer’s talks to a different series (“Conspiracy and a Pint”) before canceling them. Fetzer eventually gave one talk at the public library. Alan R withdrew not from a debate with Fetzer, but with someone else (a local) on the grounds that he (Alan) didn’t want to partake in any series that so prominently featured Fetzer.