A Turning Point USA event was met with reported protests, some of which turned violent, at the University of California, Berkeley, on Monday. The campus event marked the final stop for the American Comeback tour, which conservative activist Charlie Kirk had begun before being shot and killed at a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in September.
The gathering featured comedian Rob Schneider and Christian author Frank Turek. It prompted large protests and resulted in several arrests.
‘Fascists out of Berkeley’
Two people were detained after a physical confrontation, according to the Daily Californian. Video shows officers attempting to separate two men fighting, with one of the men reportedly wearing a red “Freedom” shirt.
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Turning Point USA uses a “Professor Watchlist” to identify teachers who “discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.”
Police also arrested four students accused of vandalism. Officials say they tried to hang a prop cardboard bug on a gate before the event kicked off, per the Daily Californian.
Protesters shouted chants of “fascists out of Berkeley” during the event, with some activists holding signs that declared “no safe place for fascist scum,” as reported by The Guardian.
Some demonstrators reportedly sported pro-Palestinian clothing and shouted “No Trump, No KKK, no fascist USA.”
According to The Guardian, one man, accused of yelling a racial slur at protesters, was surrounded by a crowd.
A car driving by also caused panic as the occupants reportedly blared the sounds of gunshots, causing people at the event to scramble for cover, unsure if the gunfire was real.
Rob Schneider, Kirk’s former chief of staff respond
Kirk’s former chief of staff, Mikey McCoy, accused Antifa activists of causing the disruption.
“Antifa is breaking through police barricades, and threatening our event attendees,” McCoy wrote on X.
Schneider also posted a response to the protests on X.
“I would like to thank ALL the courageous Cal Berkeley students who REFUSED to be intimidated by the ‘not very tolerant’ Left,” Schneider wrote. “We KNOW who the REAL FASCISTS are… the thugs who DON’T WANT FREE SPEECH.”
UC Berkeley assessing situation
In a response to the protests, a spokesperson for UC Berkeley told Berkeleyside that the school “always works to support the rights and ability of all speakers to participate in events hosted by student organizations without regard for their beliefs and perspectives.”
UC Berkeley said it is reviewing all security measures following the volatile events and said it is still determining how it will respond to what happened at the Turning Point USA gathering.
Months after Kirk’s killing
The event and subsequent protests come just two months after Kirk was assassinated. Twenty-two-year-old Tyler Robinson has been charged with the deadly shooting and awaits trial.
Following Kirk’s death, President Donald Trump and other prominent Republicans have called for discipline against those whom they accuse of celebrating the conservative activist’s death.
Some university officials have been fired, suspended or disciplined as a result of allegedly distasteful social media posts about Kirk, and a former Tennessee police officer spent weeks in jail over a social media meme he shared related to Kirk’s killing.
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