The University of California at Berkeley was once famed as the birth of America’s modern free speech movement in 1964, led by graduate student Mario Savio. But, that legacy has been marred by successive incidents and policies at the university antithetical to our First Amendment ideals. The growing trend of left-wing violence targeting free speech in America was on full display this week when Antifa thugs crashed a peaceful Turning Point USA event at UC Berkeley. The mob attacked attendees and vandalized university property in its attempt to oust Turning Point from the event space. Police made only a few arrests.
University organizers did little to protect students or the public, despite being on notice of similar incidents of organized violence in the past. They are also accused of interfering with ticketed access to the event featuring Christian comedian Rob Schneider. Berkeley’s legacy as a bastion of free speech is in tatters, stained with the blood of event attendees who came in good faith and were beaten and attacked by a vicious, organized mob while Berkeley police and campus administrators did little to stop the carnage.
Before the event, it was reported that the campus was littered with flyers promising violence against the Turning Point event, and the violent groups that are well known to the campus and the city openly took credit for their desired goals. This is a feature that has become all-too common among radical left-wing groups embracing violence as a tool to achieve political outcomes. Broadcasting their aims to silence their perceived opponents — the classic "heckler’s veto" but with a twist — the Antifa hecklers are now armed and prepared to wreak mayhem.
It’s for this very reason that President Donald Trump issued an executive order earlier this year designating Antifa a terrorist organization, and Attorney General Pam Bondi is vigorously enforcing this directive. What we saw at Berkeley only reinforces the need for a coordinated response to targeted, ideologically motivated violence.
History shows that violence against conservatives is nothing new at UC Berkeley. In 2018, the university settled a lawsuit brought by Young America’s Foundation and the Berkeley College Republicans after it sought to saddle the student groups with exorbitant security costs that were only necessary because many violent leftist students on campus were threatening event safety. I was the attorney who represented the plaintiffs in that case. And as a part of the settlement, UC Berkeley agreed to ensure conservative student groups would be able to exercise their First Amendment rights, just like every other student group on campus. This includes providing adequate security to ensure a mob of protesters can’t disrupt events.
Based on the events of this week, it appears UC Berkeley may not be living up to its end of the deal. Worse, reports of university officials suppressing turnout at the event and not recognizing or admitting certain ticketed attendees, are deeply concerning and merit investigation.
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The number of protesters at a high-profile event requires ample security by the university. The First Amendment demands that a public university provide such protection in an equal and unbiased manner, regardless of the speaker’s viewpoint. This is true even if the need for more security is the result of a hostile environment on campus. Peaceful speakers and those who come to hear them should not be left to shoulder the burden of the university’s failure to foster an accepting, non-violent culture for students.
Given the concerning behavior by violent groups on campus and the wholly inadequate response of both the university and the city of Berkeley, the Civil Rights Division, under the leadership and direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi, has opened an investigation to determine if any violations of federal civil rights laws occurred. This includes both acts or omissions by university officials, and any conspiracy by private individuals to violate the civil rights of Turning Point members, its speakers, or its attendees. Any violation of law will be met with swift action. We are coordinating this work with the Joint Terrorism Task Force and other aspects of the DOJ, and may uncover additional claims as we investigate the Antifa coordination, campus violence, and policing failures we saw at Berkeley this week.
UC Berkeley was the birthplace of the free speech movement. But the events of this week confirm that the school still has a problem with left-wing violence. It’s a feature of life on Berkeley’s campus that contradicts the school’s venerable tradition supporting the free exchange of ideas. If UC Berkeley or the California Board of Regents does not get this violence under control, and we continue to witness policing practices in the city of Berkeley that leave innocent Americans at risk based upon their perceived viewpoints, the Justice Department will step in and ensure fidelity to our first principles of free speech on public campuses.