Court lifts restraining order against Berkeley CR president
A California court has dismissed an Antifa leader’s temporary restraining order against University of California-Berkeley College Republicans president Troy Worden.
“The Temporary Restraining order against Respondent Troy Worden is terminated, effective immediately,” judicial commissioner Thomas Rasch wrote Thursday in a court document obtained by Campus Reform.
[RELATED: Berkeley CR prez fights 'frivolous' Antifa restraining order]
The temporary restraining order was filed by Yvette Felarca, a prominent figure in the Antifa movement that has engaged in rioting and inciting violence at Berkeley. Felarca was also arrested twice this year and recently charged with “battery and resisting arrest” during a September 2017 “Victory March” march in Berkeley.
The activist and some members of her political organization, the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, & Immigrant Rights, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), have accused Worden and other College Republicans of stalking and harassing them on campus.
The students, however, have maintained that there is no evidence to support Felarca’s accusation. Several CR members, in fact, have themselves reported being followed and intimidated by Antifa groups.
[RELATED: Conservative Berkeley student stalked, threatened by Antifa]
According to Worden’s attorney, the court dismissed the restraining order after learning that the activist “tried to further circumvent California law by obtaining an extension to the temporary restraining order without notifying the court.”
“Today I appeared before the Court and argued that the restraining order needed to be terminated,” attorney Mark Meuser explained in a statement provided to Campus Reform. “The Court said that they were not notified of Felarca's out of state attorney's games and quickly granted the motion.“
Despite the ruling, however, Meuser noted that Felarca is still attempting to secure a permanent restraining order against Worden in the near future.
“We are looking forward to presenting evidence before the court that the facts contained in Felarca's sworn statement only occurred in one place in this universe, her head and in the heads of her fellow conspirators—other By Any Means Necessary national leaders,” the attorney argued.
Meuser also questioned the motivation behind the temporary restraining order, noting that it was served shortly after members of the CR group attempted to attend a secret BAMN meeting where plans were being made to disrupt a Ben Shapiro event that the College Republicans were hosting.
[RELATED: Berkeley Republicans crash meeting of anti-conservative group]
“Felarca tried to use university resources to have a secret meeting to shut down the Shapiro event,” Meuser explained.
“The College Republicans decided to not be intimidated and By Any Means Necessary attempted to use force to block the College Republicans,” he continued. “When the college police informed By Any Means Necessary that they were violating school policy Troy was soon thereafter served with a temporary restraining order.”
The statement concludes with an appeal for support, noting that "a young college student like Troy is having a hard time keeping up with the legal harassment he is receiving as Antifa tries to silence him" and requesting donation's to Worden's legal defense fund so that he can keep fighting "any other legal proceedings that are bound to come his way this coming year as he boldly stands up against the fascist movement that attempts to rename itself as anti-fascist."
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