A federal investigation has been launched into a protest outside Monday night’s Turning Point USA event at UC Berkeley, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
“Antifa is an existential threat to our nation,” Bondi said in an X post on Tuesday. “The violent riots at UC Berkeley last night are under full investigation by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Mark Trannell with the Center for American Civil Liberty believes UC Berkeley did not do enough to ensure the safety of attendees, who he claims had to walk through screaming protesters to leave the event. Trannell said many were scared for their physical safety.
“Opening an investigation is the bare minimum of what we should expect from our justice department,” Trannell said. “The university knew better. It could’ve done more to prepare, and I hope that the university will take this as a learning opportunity and to prepare better for the future.”
But Hoku Jeffrey, who helped organize the protest, calls the claims baseless.
Besides a scuffle before dark that led to some arrests including the arrest of a man wearing a red Charlie Kirk T-shirt, the protest was relatively peaceful and effective, Jeffrey said.
“I thought it was a real victory,” Jeffrey said. “The students of the Berkeley campus took over their campus and made clear we’re not going to be bullied or intimidated by Turning Point USA’s fascist organizing by Donald Trump.”
UC Berkeley said it has not been notified of any Department of Justice investigation, but intends to fully cooperate.
“There is no place at UC Berkeley for attempts to use violence or intimidation to prevent lawful expression or chill free speech,” the university said in a statement.
UC Berkeley in the statement also said the “event proceeded safely and without interruption, with more than 900 participants in attendance.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon appeared on Fox on Tuesday and promised a thorough look at potential failures of UC Berkeley.
“I also have concerns as the top civil rights lawyer in the United States about whether the Berkeley police are doing their job under the law to protect citizens equally,” Dhillon said in the Fox interview.
As to whether a civil lawsuit is also coming, the Center for American Liberty, the organization Dhillon founded, said we will have to wait and see.
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Source: NBC Bay Area