After violent protests erupted Monday night on Penn State’s main campus, the university became the latest to allow a controversial event and bet wrongly that civil discourse would trump unrest.

The situation at Penn State unraveled quickly before a scheduled appearance by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, with police — some on horseback — being called in to break up at least one fight and disperse protesters and counterprotesters who had assembled in the area of the Thomas Building.

Penn State officials deemed the protests an unlawful disturbance. They also canceled McInnes’ event 40 minutes before it was scheduled to begin.

As the nation has become more polarized, the walk between what rival student groups consider hate speech versus First Amendment-­protected free speech has become ever more precarious.

Uncensored America, a recognized student group at Penn State that invited McInnes, describes itself as being devoted to free speech and “fighting censorship and cancel culture.”

But some student protesters expressed outrage that the student organization had brought McInnes onto campus because his group has been accused of spouting hate speech and having ties to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which has taken stands on speech issues, said Tuesday it is looking into why the incident devolved and whether the protests warranted the event’s cancellation.

The school “nobly weathered intense pressure to cancel the event,” said Alex Morey, the foundation’s director of campus rights advocacy.

“However, we have concerns on two fronts,” Morey said. “First, that the alleged threats of violence were not significant enough to meet First Amendment standards for canceling an expressive event of this nature. And second, that apparent violence against peaceful protesters was not met with arrests.

“Canceling an expressive event and dispersing peaceful protest should be a last resort. Instead, the university and its police force must first use less speech-restrictive means, including arresting the few people acting violently, so the hundreds of others in attendance could either listen to the event as planned or protest it.”

On Tuesday night, Penn State released an update saying that misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and defiant trespass were going to be filed against one person. The university did not identify the person or give details about the incident that prompted the charges.

On its website, Penn State said officials canceled the event amid threats of escalating violence. The university said it had earlier allowed the event, although it described McInnes’ message as both “abhorrent” and not aligned “with the values of Penn State.”

The student newspaper, the Daily Collegian, chronicled turmoil that began about 6:20 p.m. and included scuffles. On social media, commenters debated whether it was police or others who sprayed demonstrators and whether protesters were provoked.

The university said Tuesday night that police did not use pepper spray in trying to quell the incident.

Nationally, conservative claims of suppressed speech have mounted as students and others on college campuses have waged vocal and sometimes disruptive counterprotests.

In December 2016, right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos delivered incendiary remarks at West Virginia University with attacks on the left, including a personal attack on a sociology professor on campus.

“Professor (Daniel) Brewster teaches sociology, which comes just a little bit above gender studies in my burger-flipping-majors ranking,” Yiannopoulos said, making slurs about Brewster’s appearance and sexuality.

Students, employees and others rallied to the professor’s defense on social media as WVU President E. Gordon Gee tried to explain why the school allowed an event with content he personally condemned.

“I will always support the decision to bring a speaker to campus and our community, no matter how controversial,” Gee wrote in a letter to the campus community. “However, that does not mean I, as president, lose my First Amendment right to speak up and condemn what is presented. It is one thing to share differing opinions that others may find offensive. It is another to be defamatory and target individuals. I personally condemn the tactic this speaker chose to vindictively attack one of our faculty members.”

Two years later, a conservative group threatened to sue the University of Pittsburgh over a security fee of more than $5,500 that the school had sought. The fee was announced before an appearance by conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro.

Citing student newspaper reports from the time, Pitt spokesman Chuck Finder said the university ultimately waived the fee and the event went on as planned.

At the University of California, Berkeley, a fight over an ultimately canceled 2017 speech by conservative commentator Ann Coulter wound up in court. She canceled her speech amid a dispute with the university over security concerns. Berkeley College Republicans and Young America’s Foundation, sponsors of Coulter’s speech, sued the university in federal court, claiming it had discriminated against conservative speakers.

Both sides claimed victory after the university settled the lawsuit with a $70,000 payment to cover attorney fees and clarified its security policy. The university said it never discriminated against conservative speakers and settled the lawsuit to avoid a costly legal battle, while the Young America’s Foundation called the settlement a victory for free speech.

Penn State officials said Tuesday that no one suffered serious injuries during Monday’s protests.

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi defended the school’s decisions to allow the event and later cancel it. She questioned the actions of the co-hosts and protesters on both sides.

“It is my understanding that Alex Stein (the event’s co-host with McInnes) entered the peaceful protest, and this action raised the tension,” she said. “It is unclear which individuals on site then resorted to physical confrontation and to using pepper spray against others in the crowd, including against police officers.

“Tonight, Stein and McInnes will celebrate a victory for being canceled when, in actuality, they contributed to the very violence that compromised their ability to speak. Tonight, counterprotesters also will celebrate a victory that they forced the university to cancel this event, when in actuality they have furthered the visibility of the very cause they oppose.”

Bill Schackner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. He can be reached at bschackner@triblive.com.

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