TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Alt-right leader Richard Spencer drew more than 2,500 protesters at the University of Florida.
Florida State is no stranger to controversial guests.
Last year, FSU's college republicans invited Milo Yiannopolous to campus and university police say the event went without any major incidents.
Thursday's event did get physical as you can see here but there was heavy law enforcement presence everywhere. The concern there was avoiding tragedy like that in Charlottesville, where one person was killed.
FSU Police says it's highly trained as far as working with large-scale events and works on strategies for each one.
"You work with your law enforcement partners. You work with other people around the campus to help as well. A lot of times leading up to something like that, you reach out through Student Affairs to get a feel of how the students feel and what would be best to make sure that people are comfortable," said Major James Russell with FSU PD. "So, you do a lot of groundwork beforehand, but we're not afraid to ask for help either. Just like the local folks did down there in Gainesville, we'll reach out as well, because at the end of the day, we want people to be safe."
FSU Police have a full-time command staff member who evaluates major events that could require some backup.
Police say big events like home football games often call for more help. So, an event that may bring more people to campus would fall under that type of planning.
