UC Berkeley protesters harass TPUSA attendees, DOJ investigates
The final 'This is the Turning Point' tour event was held at the University of California, Berkeley as large, aggressive protests formed outside of the venue.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has launched a full investigation into the occurrence.
Aggressive protesters, including Antifa members, swarmed the final Turning Point USA’s 2025 tour stop on Nov. 10 at the University of California, Berkeley, prompting U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch a full investigation into the occurrence.
Held at Zellerbach Hall, the event drew a full house of attendees and a massive protest presence outside the venue. Law enforcement set up barricades, however videos posted to Instagram by a reporter for Frontlines TPUSA, Savanah Hernandez, showed protesters chanting and attempting to push past perimeters.
In response to these chaotic events, UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulf announced to CNN, the university has condemned the violence shown at the TPUSA event.
According to Hernandez’s video, protesters began gathering around 4 p.m. and quickly escalated their behavior. Among many foul chants, they called TPUSA attendees “fascists” and “nazis” while later chanting in unison, “death to fascists.”
[RELATED: Texas Christian University appears to cancel Chloe Cole TPUSA event]
“They all ended up swarming those attendees,” Hernandez said. She said the majority of those at the protest were Antifa members and asserted, “one of those Antifa members actually lit off a flare, smoke going everywhere,”
President of Turning Point USA at Berkeley, John Paul Leon, told Campus Reform that he was personally far from the violence, but has discovered more about the “violent actions that occurred and the inadequacies of the security.”
“The venue was very safe and security is definitely motivated to defend school property, but they don’t seem as eager to defend attendees once they step outside the perimeter of the venue,” Leon said in a statement to Campus Reform.
“Many attendees had glass and poop thrown at them,” Leon noted. Along with this, attendees are believed to have experienced theft of their personal belongings and assault by the protesters.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice, Harmeet Dhillon, told Fox News this has not been the only instance where violent disturbance has erupted on the campus directed towards conservative student associations.
“I sued them. I won a settlement and Berkeley agreed to protect the guests of conservative speakers. Yet here we are,” Dhillon argued. “They seem, as savannah mentioned, to be completely unprepared. The Berkeley, local police as well, seem to be unprepared, undermanned. They treat it as if it’s a boat sized problem. It is not a boat sized problem.”
Campus Reform has contacted UC Berkeley for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
Follow the author of this article on Instagram: @eebyt26
