The American Conservative Union (ACU) has revoked Breitbart News tech editor and alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos' invitation to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland this week.
The invitation was rescinded after Yiannopoulos, who has been criticized as racist, misogynist and white supremacist, was seen in video clips posted online discussing Jews, sexual consent, statutory rape, child abuse and homosexuality.
"Due to the revelation of an offensive video in the past 24 hours condoning pedophilia, the American Conservative Union has decided to rescind the invitation of Milo Yiannopoulos to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference," ACU Chair Matt Schlapp posted on Twitter about 1:10 p.m. Monday.
"We realize that Mr. Yiannopoulos has responded on Facebook, but it is insufficient," Schlapp's statement continued. "It is up to him to answer the tough questions and we urge him to immediately further address these disturbing comments."
Yiannopoulos responded to the video, posted to Twitter by the Reagan Battalion Sunday, on Facebook later that day: "I do not support pedophilia. Period. It is a vile and disgusting crime, perhaps the very worst. There are selectively edited videos doing the rounds, as part of a co-ordinated effort to discredit me from establishment Republicans, that suggest I am soft on the subject." (See his full statement here.)
The British author said he spoke of his own relationship when he was 17 with a man who was 29. The age of consent in the U.K. is 16.
It's unclear who edited the videos. The Reagan Battalion is a blog that describes itself as "news, information, commentary, from a conservative perspective."
On Monday, shortly after Schlapp announced that his invitation was rescinded, Yiannopoulos posted a new statement to Facebook reiterating his opposition to child abuse, but not directly addressing CPAC.
"My own experiences as a victim led me to believe I could say anything I wanted to on this subject, no matter how outrageous," Yiannopoulos wrote. But I understand that my usual blend of British sarcasm, provocation and gallows humor might have come across as flippancy, a lack of care for other victims or, worse, 'advocacy.' I deeply regret that."
CPAC will be held Wednesday through Saturday at the Gaylord Resort at National Harbor. Schlapp also tweeted Monday that President Donald Trump will speak at the conference on Friday morning.