Dinesh D’Souza to speak at a second event in Spokane

Conservative author and commentator Dinesh D’Souza will speak at the Spokane County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner, the organization announced.

The April 30 event is open to the public, with tickets available for purchase at www.spokanegop.com.

That’s in contrast to a D’Souza speech in Spokane later this month on the Gonzaga University campus. The College Republicans student group claims Gonzaga officials won’t let the public attend that Feb. 24 event because of the speaker’s controversial views. University officials say student-group activities typically aren’t open to the public.

Spokane County Republican Party Vice Chairwoman Stephanie Cates told party members this weekend that D’Souza was invited to the Lincoln Day Dinner before the controversy over the Gonzaga speech arose.

“I heard a lot of people say, we should bring him here,” Cates said. “Well guess what? We are.”

She added, “He’s a wonderful speaker, brilliant.”