Anti-fascist protesters clash with attendees outside Turning Point event at UC Berkeley

Protesters face off against police outside Turning Point USA’s campus tour event at UC Berkeley. Credit: AP/Noah Berger

Dozens of anti-fascist protesters, some with faces wrapped in keffiyehs, pulled out microphones and noisemakers, crowding in on the people in Jesus shirts and MAGA hats lined up early to catch the final stop of Turning Point USA’s fall campus tour following the assassination of its founder Charlie Kirk at a Utah Valley University event two months ago.

As Kirk’s fans lined up to enter Zellerbach Hall on Bancroft Way, some hoping to claim standby tickets, protesters alternated chants: “No Trump, No KKK, no fascist USA” with “antisemites, go home,” and, “Fuck your dead homie,” a reference to Kirk.

Around 5 p.m., a clash quickly broke out on Bancroft Way between the protesters and a man selling Kirk memorial “Freedom” t-shirts. The quick skirmish seemingly ended in the detention by Berkeley police of both the t-shirt vendor and a protester with whom he had fought. (It wasn’t immediately clear what set off the confrontation.)

“I was gay until Charlie Kirk showed me the way!” the vendor yelled.

Berkeley police officers separate two men fighting before the event. Both were taken away by police. Credit: AP/Noah Berger)

A man selling Charlie Kirk memorial “Freedom” t-shirts outside the event is detained by police following a clash before the Turning Point USA event at UC Berkeley on Monday, Nov. 10. Credit: Richard H. Grant for Berkeleyside

About a dozen Berkeley police in helmets corralled the crowd, while a number of UCPD officers stood at the ready inside the plaza outside Zellerbach Hall, which was blocked off with a smattering of private security standing guard and screening attendees. Nearby, two police officers held pepper ball launchers aimed at protesters.

The audience, with many people wearing red hats, waits for the program to start inside Zellerbach Hall. Credit: AP/Godofredo Vásquez

As attendees filed into the event, about 20 UCPD officers wearing riot gear and holding zip ties lined up outside Eshleman Hall — about 100 feet from an ongoing protest that alternated between a dance party vibe and screaming matches between protesters and those lining up for the event. One man in a freedom shirt screamed out, “Spray them, tase them, lock them up,” encouraging police to arrest anti-fascist protesters.

Protesters were also detained by police in the ticketed area outside the event venue.

Once the speech began, a crowd of about 200-300 remained outside the venue, facing off with law enforcement officers with BPD, UCPD and the California Highway Patrol.

Law enforcement face off against protesters from across a barrier outside Zellerbach Hall. Credit: Alex N. Gecan

There had been three arrests in total at the protest as of just after 7 p.m., according to a UC Berkeley spokesperson, two made by Berkeley police officers and one by UC police. Berkeley police spokesperson Byron White said one of the arrests was on suspicion of battery, but did not say what prompted the other arrest. Neither spokesperson shared further information about the arrests.

A protester is detained by police in the ticketed area inside the plaza outside Zellerbach Hall. Credit: AP/Noah Berger

A protester scuffles with a Berkeley police officer before the event as other officers separate two men fighting. Credit: AP/Noah Berger

There have been many disagreements among the protesters on the left, some intentionally provoking people coming to see Kirk, and others pleading with each other not to engage. “This is what they want — they want to see fights,” one protester told another.

Early Monday morning, UC police arrested four students on suspicion of felony vandalism, as they allegedly attempted to hang a large cardboard insect on Sather Gate and hung posters advertising a protest of the Turning Point event, highlighting incendiary quotes of Kirk’s.

Kirk was an adversary of the left because of his often overtly racist, misogynist, homophobic and xenophobic messaging, which ranged from calling the Civil Rights Act a “huge mistake” to claiming that birth control creates “bitter young women.”

Kirk launched Turning Point USA in 2012, aiming to spread conservatism at college and high school campuses. The organization takes aim at what they see as dominant liberal thinking and stymying of conservative students by universities, including keeping a “professor watchlist,” seeking to “expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda.” (Some professors on other campuses have seen an uptick in threats against their safety since Kirk’s death.)

Rob Schneider, Frank Turek speak

Kirk was originally scheduled to headline the Berkeley stop, debating students outdoors with his signature “Prove Me Wrong” format. In his place, Christian apologist and Kirk mentor Frank Turek and comedian Rob Schneider gave addresses. Also speaking were comedian Jobob Taeleifi also spoke and John Paul Leon, the president of UC Berkeley’s Turning Point chapter, who came on stage doing a Trump dance.

Turek, who was present when Kirk was assassinated, compared Kirk to Christ, saying he was martyred, and said he’s gotten emails from people in Sweden saying they’ve converted to Christianity because of Kirk’s death.

“The folks here at Berkeley are big into justice,” he said. “There is no justice unless god exists, there are no rights unless god exists.”

Many of the speakers mentioned the protests in their remarks.

Schneider, who rose to fame via Saturday Night Live and his sidekick role in Adam Sandler movies, began by thanking “antifa” for their welcome outside and said protesters were coming from a place of emotion rather than reason.

“We must be awake, we must be aware, and we must fight for” freedom, he said.

Many came from far away to see Turning Point event

While a few Cal students were in attendance, many came from other universities or were non-students excited about the one California event on tour.

A number of people in line for the event Monday said they’d driven as far as five hours because they’re big fans of Kirk. Ella Klosek, 18, said she and her boyfriend had driven from Santa Maria to Sacramento Sunday to stay with family before coming to the event.

Like many of those who spoke to Berkeleyside, she said Kirk’s religious beliefs, not explicitly his politics, drew her to follow his work. She said his “traditional family values” inspired her — “what it looks like to be a godly husband or wife.”

The event was moved indoors for safety reasons, Leon told CalMatters.

He said the chapter’s membership has grown significantly since Kirk’s assasination.

The shooting also prompted UC President James B. Milliken to contact all UC chancellors, urging them to review their events policies and increase security measures.

“Universities are places where civil discussion and debate can and should occur, without the fear or threat of harm,” Milliken wrote.

Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof declined to share details on the security plan ahead of Monday’s event, citing “obvious reasons.”

But he said the university’s Major Events policy applied due to the size of the gathering. That policy requires extra preparation by the student group hosting the event — in this case the Berkeley chapter of Turning Point — and triggers increased security.

In addition to the protocols outlined in the plan, Turning Point is banning attendees from bringing bags inside the venue.

“UC Berkeley 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,” Mogulof said.

Monday arrests echo battles over far-right speakers during Trump’s first term
U.S. Army veteran Jefferson Silver, a protester, watches police line up outside the event. Credit: Richard H. Grant for Berkeleyside

Questions around controversial campus events and the university’s role in supporting or derailing them came to a head during the first Trump presidency.

In February 2017, when the Berkeley College Republicans brought far-right speaker Milo Yiannopoulos to Cal, about 150 activists — many identifying as “black bloc” antifa — descended on campus, setting fire to portable lights, throwing Molotov cocktails, and ultimately leading to the cancelation of the event.

The dramatic incident put a target on Cal and the city of Berkeley’s back. Repeated protests by largely non-student, conservative demonstrators overtook city parks and streets. At these events throughout 2017, “alt-right” activists, including members of now-prominent groups like the Proud Boys, duked it out with antifa and other counter-protesters on the left, with many skirmishes turning into bloody brawls and ending in injuries and arrests.

When the Berkeley College Republicans invited Ann Coulter to campus, UC Berkeley initially canceled the engagement, citing safety concerns given the violent protests happening at the school and city, then offered an alternative date.

The student group sued the university in response, claiming the administration was intentionally stifling conservative speech. The lawsuit ended in a settlement in 2018, with Cal agreeing to amend its events policy and pay attorney fees. But that agreement came after another attempt by the Berkeley College Republicans to “test” the university by inviting right-wing personality Ben Shapiro to campus. That event, also at Zellberbach, cost UC Berkeley $600,000 in security costs.

Just a couple of weeks later, Cal spent $800,000 on Yiannopoulos’ return to campus, which Mogulof at the time called “the most expensive photo-op in the university’s history.”

The current Major Events policy requires student or outside event hosts, in this case Turning Point, to pay for the venue rental, insurance, and “basic” but not “extraordinary” security costs.

Another, more recent event at Zellerbach also resulted in protests and cancellation. About 200 pro-Palestine demonstrators shut down a talk by conservative Israeli attorney Ran Bar-Yoshafat in February 2024, which was organized by pro-Israel student groups.

Alex N. Gecan, Ella Carter-Klauschie, Zac Farber and Nico Savidge contributed reporting to this story.

Anti-fascist protesters clash with attendees outside Turning Point event at UC Berkeley

Tags: