The Justice Department launched an investigation into the University of California, Berkeley, on Tuesday after a large group of left-wing agitators engaged in violence at a Turning Point USA event on its campus the night before.
The security at such events, given the rise of political violence across the country, has come into question. Alleged antifa members reportedly deployed tear gas, fireworks, and glass bottles on Monday night.
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Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said the protesters’ violent actions toward conservative attendees will not be tolerated.
“@UCBerkeley and the City of Berkeley should expect some incoming @CivilRights correspondence. And more,” Dhillon posted on X. “In America, we do not allow citizens to be attacked by violent thugs and shrug and turn our backs. Been there, done that, not on our watch.”
The DOJ official referenced a previous lawsuit she led, which alleged that UC Berkeley failed to protect conservative speakers on campus. She was reminded of that case following Monday’s incident.
“We saw all of this at Berkeley back in 2017. @UCBerkeley was sued, and settled the case,” she wrote in a separate post, sharing a video of the chaotic scene outside the TPUSA venue Monday night. The department “will investigate what happened here, and I see several issues of serious concern regarding campus and local security and Antifa’s ability to operate with impunity in [California].”
Masked “antifascist” protesters gathered to object to the TPUSA event, chanting and starting brawls. Demonstrators also set off smoke bombs as tensions escalated, even with a noticeable police presence.
A spokesperson for UC Berkeley said four people were arrested, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Berkeley Police Department arrested two, and the other two were apprehended by campus security.
In light of Dhillon’s announcement, the spokesperson said the public university will cooperate with any investigation.
The campus event took place two months to the date since TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University. The event was the conservative group’s final stop on its “American Comeback Tour.”
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Andrew Kolvet, an executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, expressed surprise at the number of people attending the event, undeterred by the protesters outside the campus building.
“Despite Antifa thugs blocking our campus tour stop with tear gas, fireworks, and glass bottles, we had a PACKED HOUSE in the heart of deep blue UC Berkeley,” he said on X. “God bless these brave students. For Charlie.”