In August 2017, Ayyadurai spoke at the Boston Free Speech rally, a gathering which drew large counter-protests and whose speaker line-up included right-wing extremists.[38][39] Ayyadurai later disputed how the event was characterized, tweeting that the "establishment" wanted to block attendance and media coverage and sought a "Race War to divide us".[40][41] In April 2018, the city of Cambridge threatened Ayyadurai with daily fines for an alleged zoning code violation if he did not remove a banner on his campaign bus.