The Department of Justice announced Tuesday it would investigate security at the liberal bastion campus of UC Berkeley after multiple people were taken into custody Monday evening after clashes erupted on and off campus as protesters tried to shut down a Turning Point USA event.
“I see several issues of serious concern regarding campus and local security and Antifa’s ability to operate with impunity in CA,” Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, posted on X.
A large group of anti-fascist protesters showed up Monday afternoon to the conservative group’s event, which was located outside UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall on the campus’ famed Sproul Plaza, the ground zero of the historic 1960s campus free speech movement.
The event was Turning Point USA’s first event in California since Charlie Kirk, the group’s founder, was shot and killed at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. It was also the group’s final stop on its “American Comeback Tour.”
“Hey, ho, hey, ho,” protesters chanted as they converged on Sproul Plaza. “Turning Point has to go.”
Dan Mogulof, a spokesperson for UC Berkeley, said four people were arrested. Two people were arrested after fighting with each other off campus by the Berkeley Police Department and an additional two arrests were made on campus by university police.
“At this point, we’re aware of a single incident of violence between two individuals who fought with each other,” Mogulof said. “And that was the arrest made by the city that happened, not on the campus, but on the streets. … That’s the one violent incident that we have information about. But we will, as always, cooperate with any investigation.”
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, emphasized that a large group of conservatives gathered inside the UC Berkeley auditorium.
“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,” said Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Turning Point USA, sharing a video on X of a crowd standing up, holding placards of Charlie Kirk’s face and chanting “Charlie Kirk! Charlie Kirk!”
“God bless these brave students,” Kolvet said, posting two emojis of U.S. flags. “For Charlie.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
