Northfield [MN] News 2-9-15… "Fetzer brings controversial views to new venue in Northfield"

This relates to this prior post.
Well, it finally happened. Someone in Northfield MN is advocating for “free speech” by giving Jim Fetzer a locale for speaking. His talk, entitled, “Free Speech and Terrorism: Sandy Hook and the Boston Bombing”, will be presented at the Northfield Public Library meeting room on Wednesday, Feb. 18. It is sponsored by the Madison, Wisconsin, based “Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth.”
So the bottom line may be, “If you can’t talk at the Cow, go talk in “the Library“.”

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Fetzer brings controversial views to new venue in Northfield
By Kevin Krein [email protected]
Posted on Feb 9, 2015, by NfldNewsKevin
When it comes to expressing his beliefs to the Northfield community, Jim Fetzer says he will not be silenced.
After his originally scheduled appearances at The Contented Cow as part of the politically themed “Cow Talks” series drew the ire from many in town, Contented Cow owner Norman Butler canceled all of the events in the wake of the subsequent controversy and fallout.
Now, Fetzer has found both a new benefactor for his presentation, as well as a new venue.
Sponsored by the Madison, Wisconsin, based “Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth,” Fetzer will now present a lecture titled “Free Speech and Terrorism: Sandy Hook and the Boston Bombing” at the Northfield Public Library meeting room on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
Fetzer, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota Duluth, has published a number of books and articles on his controversial theories regarding events such as the Sandy Hook shooting, which he believes to have been a staged event; on 9/11, which he believes to have been an inside job; and perhaps most controversial, his views on the severity of the Holocaust, which have drawn the most criticism from the Northfield community.
Citing numerous reasons on why he wanted to pursue an audience in Northfield, Fetzer himself simply stated that he still believes in the First Amendment and that this new opportunity is a chance for Northfield to “actually live the First Amendment.”

Fetzer says he is not a purveyor of hate speech, nor does he feel his beliefs on the Holocaust make him an anti-Semite; but rather that he is interested in major historical events where he feels that the public has been mislead or lied to.
He also cited the reaction from many at Carleton College as another reason for his desire to come to Northfield. He stated that the college had “betrayed their own ideals” by taking such a strong stance against the originally scheduled events at The Contented Cow. Much has to do with the coverage of the controversial events in the school’s paper, “The Carletonian,” and a op-ed titled “Free speech, not hate speech,” signed by a number of Carleton’s faculty and staff.
On his experience with the Northfield community thus far, Fetzer called it extraordinary. He said that his hopes for those that attend his presentation at the library is that it would be a “learning experience for everyone.”
Fetzer’s new engagement in Northfield was organized by Kevin Barrett with the MUJCA, a group Fetzer said he has collaborated with before in the past. The two of them felt that this situation was too important not to pursue further, and it was a comment on the Northfield News website that gave Fetzer the idea that not speaking at The Contented Cow need not prevent him from speaking in Northfield altogether.
Barrett, himself an Islamic convert since 1993, also operates a non-profit group, Khidria, that in his words, is “aimed at trying to help people in the U.S. understand the Muslim majority view of current events, and the so called war on terror.” He believes that the viewpoints of a majority of Muslims are suppressed from the mainstream media.
He continued by saying that Fetzer’s originally scheduled talks in Northfield were “essentially silenced by terrorists.”
“They terrorized the outlet into shutting down all of the events,” he said. “Those people are the real terrorists.”
When asked what his hopes were for the event in Northfield, Barret said he hopes Fetzer’s lecture will be an example of how we still have a little bit of free speech in America today.
“I would hope that the community would stop and wonder why powerful people prevented him from speaking in the first place,” he said.
In a release regarding Fetzer’s scheduled talk, library director Teresa Jensen made it clear that the City of Northfield and the library itself do not advocate, condone, support or endorse Fetzer’s beliefs.
She then went on to cite the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights indicates that “Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.”
“The city of Northfield and the Northfield Public Library are obligated to provide use of our meeting room space for this forum,” Jensen said.
Kevin Krein is a general assignment reporter for the Northfield News. You can reach him at 507-645-1106.