Berkeley CR prez fights 'frivolous' Antifa restraining order
Troy Worden, the president of the University of California-Berkeley College Republicans, is challenging a restraining order filed against him by prominent Antifa activist Yvette Felarca.
Mark Meuser, the attorney representing Worden in court, maintained that the charges against the student are false and that the order primarily serves “to shut down the free speech rights of the Berkeley College Republicans.”
[RELATED: 'Free Speech Week' ends early amidst potential lawsuit]
“We are going to be arguing that the restraining order be removed, they are going to be arguing that the restraining order be kept valid,” the attorney said in an interview with Berkeleyside last week. “We got a ton of witnesses that are going to be showing up to say that the events that she listed in her declaration never happened.
According to Worden, Felarca accused the student group of stalking, harassment, and intimidation while securing the restraining order.
“We got video evidence showing that the things that she said happened did not happen,” the attorney continued, referring to Felarca’s accusations. “The evidence is going to be, hopefully, very clear that the whole reason why she brought this is because she was trying to shut down the free speech rights of the Berkeley College Republicans.”
In an effort to cover future court expenses, Worden, who is also a Campus Correspondent for Campus Reform, also started his own legal defense fund with the goal of imposing “court sanctions on [Felarca] for wasting court time and making false accusations against students.”
[RELATED: Berkeley Republicans crash meeting of anti-conservative group]
“Yvette Felarca, the leader of By Any Means Necessary[,] has served me with a restraining order to stop my conservative free speech activities at Berkeley,” Worden wrote on his fundraising website. “Well-funded groups on the left are supporting Felarca’s cause—the accused students need your help to fight back and even the score in court, including filing claims against Felarca and her crew for their illegal conduct interfering with the rights of the Berkeley Republican students.”
A prominent figure in the modern Antifa movement, Felarca has a record of participating in violence and encouraging it against her political opponents.
Over the summer, Felarca was charged with inciting a riot in connection to her activism, including an incident in which the Antifa organizer was filmed punching a protester in the face.
[RELATED: Antifa leader arrested after scuffle in Berkeley]
Felarca’s most recent run-in with the law came in late September when she was arrested for “battery and resisting arrest” during Antifa’s “Victory March” in Berkeley.
“What does Yvette do now that she is out on bail? She harasses conservative students on campus and files frivolous restraining orders,” Worden argued on the legal defense fund website. “She falsely claims that the Berkeley College Republicans harass her, stalk her, and intimidate her, among other phony accusations. She has an out-of-state Detroit lawyer, Shanta Driver, who flies in to California to help her abuse the courts this way.”
In a statement to Campus Reform, Worden said that while the restraining order “was extended” during a hearing last week, the distance was reduced from 100 yards to 10 yards.
The next judicial hearing is slated for October 13.
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