In a recent interview with ABC News' Nightline, Milo Yiannopoulos, the British journalist and Breitbart News contributor who harassed SNL alum and "Ghostbusters" actress Leslie Jones earlier this summer, said he had no regrets about what he had done. "Trolling is very important," said Yiannopoulos, adding "I like to think of myself as a virtuous troll, you know? I'm doing God's work.

Media: WochIt Media

As much of Seattle spends Inauguration Day in mourning, a few hundred University of Washington conservatives are poised to gleefully greet it with a provocateur from a white nationalist movement.

College Republicans at the UW (UWCR) will play host to Milo Yiannopoulos, technology editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart was the subject of much scrutiny during the presidential campaign after generating fake news stories to bolster Donald Trump's campaign; its former editor, Steve Bannon, is a top aide to President-elect Trump.

Yiannopoulos will speak at Kane Hall on Friday at 7 p.m.

UW will not be the first stop on Yiannopoulos's college tour (aka the "Dangerous Faggot Tour," since he is openly gay), but it is especially inflammatory since it coincides with Trump's inauguration ceremony that morning.

Yiannopoulos, who calls feminism a "cancer" and was permanently banned from Twitter in June 2016 after a series of racist attacks on actress Leslie Jones, has drawn much criticism on the tour. For the UW event, a Change.org petition currently has 4,572 supporters asking university President Ana Mari Cauce to cancel the event on the grounds that it violates campus codes of conduct.

  • Milo Yiannopoulos, a conservative columnist and internet personality, holds a press conference down the street from the Pulse Nightclub, June 15, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images
Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images
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Milo Yiannopoulos, a conservative columnist and internet personality, holds a press conference down the street from the Pulse Nightclub, June 15, 2016 in Orlando, Florida.
Milo Yiannopoulos, a conservative columnist and internet personality, holds a press conference down the street from the Pulse Nightclub, June 15, 2016 in Orlando, Florida.
Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images

A pro-Yiannopoulos petition has 720 supporters. 

The university's administration has not moved to cancel the event.

"We respect the rights of all our student organizations to invite speakers of their choice, even if these speakers express ideas that are unpopular or offensive to many," UW spokesperson Norm Arkans told KUOW in December.

The Eventbrite page for the event shows tickets are sold out, but organizers believe opponents may have reserved tickets under fake names.

"People signed up on Eventbrite using false identities," Kai Frenay, an officer with UWCR, said. Organizers plan to match IDs to names at the door to ensure attendance at the event won't be artificially inflated. "These are people who have no intention of going, and just want to take up available spots that otherwise would have gone to someone who actually wants to attend."

Though UWCR reserves the right to ban anyone who incites violence, a post from the group on the event page says the group welcomes people who are there to "yell at Milo, because it'll be funny when he engages with them."

At the moment there are no formal plans for demonstrations against the event, but UWCR is expecting backlash. They believe demonstrators could dwarf the 550 people admitted to hear the talk.

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"Milo's team ... warned of the possibility that (protesters') numbers will be in between one to two thousand," Frenay said. "It's hard to predict whether protesters will prioritize Milo's event over the one happening downtown, but we are taking precautions that far exceed what other schools have done in light of it being Inauguration Day."

A fundraising campaign raised $12,366 in 20 days and has sold out the VIP and guaranteed-seat sections. Frenay says the event actually oversold its VIP options and had to make changes to the seating option. Those who donated $100 to the event will also receive a "Make UW Great Again" hat.