Milo Yiannopoulos Taking Stage as CPAC Keynote Speaker

Controversial Breitbart News senior editor Milo Yiannopoulos will have more time on stage than any other conservative figure at next month's Conservative Political Action Conference, following violent protests that greeted his planned appearance at the University of California at Berkeley in early February. 

CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp said the protests are the reason he picked Yiannopoulos as the upcoming event's main speaker, reports The Hollywood Reporter. 

"An epidemic of speech suppression has taken over college campuses," Schlapp said. "Milo has exposed their liberal thuggery, and we think free speech includes hearing Milo's important perspective."

Yiannopoulos said he plans to speak about his "experiences in America battling feminists, Black Lives Matter, the media, professors and the entertainment industry."

CPAC, an annual Washington D.C. event that features speeches from several established conservatives, already has listed politicians such as Vice President Mike Pence, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, along with conservative television personalities such as Lou Dobbs and Mark Levin.

However, as a keynote speaker, Yiannopoulos will have more stage time, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

This year's CPAC gathering will take place Feb. 22-25 at Washington's Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, with speakers broadcast live on C-SPAN.

Yiannopoulos on Friday night appeared on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" program,  where he made waves while criticizing HBO stars Lena Dunham, Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer.

He also addressed his Twitter blowup with "Saturday Night Live" star Leslie Jones. The social media site banned him after his fans tweeted racist insults at Jones, but Yiannopoulos told The Hollywood Reporter that ban was misreported.

"I wrote a bad review of her movie and then taunted her a bit on Twitter, saying she looked like a dude," he said. "The media twisted that into, 'Milo incites racist hate mob against black actress.' Talk about fake news!"

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