Ann Coulter cancels Berkeley speech after sponsors back out

April 26 (UPI) -- Commentator Ann Coulter said Wednesday she canceled plans for her speech at the University of California, Berkeley, because conservative groups no longer will sponsor her.

The speech was originally scheduled to take place Thursday but university officials asked her to postpone it until next month amid protest plans. Coulter said she couldn't make it on the afternoon of May 2 -- which is "dead week" when students are studying for final exams -- and said she would go to speak Thursday somewhere at Berkeley.

But Young America's Foundation and College Republicans said they could no longer participate in the event. "Ms. Coulter may still choose to speak in some form on campus, but Young America's Foundation will not jeopardize the safety of its staff or students," said a statement signed by YAF and College Republicans.

"It's a sad day for free speech," Coulter said in a message to The New York Times.

"I looked over my shoulder and my allies had joined the other team," Coulter said in an email to Fox News.

The two student groups filed a civil rights lawsuit Monday.

"At no time did Berkeley provide a time or place for Coulter to speak, and unconstitutionally violated the First Amendment rights of students in preventing YAF's campus lecture from taking place," YAF spokesman Spencer Brown told Fox News. "We are moving ahead with the lawsuit."

The suit names four university officials as defendants, including University of California President Janet Napolitano and Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks, and three police officials.

Dirks, in a message to the campus community Wednesday, said, "We cannot ignore or deny what is a new reality. Groups and individuals from the extreme ends of the political spectrum have made clear their readiness and intention to utilize violent tactics in support or in protest of certain speakers at UC Berkeley."

He added, "This is a university, not a battlefield. We must make every effort to hold events at a time and location that maximizes the chances that First Amendment rights can be successfully exercised and that community members can be protected. While our commitment to freedom of speech and expression remains absolute, we have an obligation to heed our police department's assessment of how best to hold safe and successful events."

Coulter said Wednesday, "I think I'm still going to Berkeley, but there will be no speech."