“Violence is not a legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights,” a spokesperson for Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital on Wednesday afternoon. “While people have the right to protest, it must be done peacefully.”<\/p>\n
Newsom’s office pointed out that the majority of demonstrators peacefully protested, with 6 arrests out of a total of more than 900, and that the agitators were controlled by state and local law enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The incident unfolded on Monday night<\/a> on the campus of UC Berkeley at a Turning Point event featuring actor Rob Schneider and author Frank Turek, a Christian mentor of the organization’s late founder, Charlie Kirk. Left-wing agitators swarmed Zellerbach Hall, where the event, which was the last stop on the “This is the Turning Point” tour, was held.<\/p>\n FETTERMAN FIRES BACK AT NEWSOM AFTER SHUTDOWN CRITICISM, REFUSES TO ‘PLAY CHICKEN’ WITH THE LIVES OF AMERICANS<\/a><\/p>\n California Gov. Gavin Newsom looks on during a bill signing event related to redrawing the state\u2019s congressional maps on Aug. 21, 2025. (Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Four students at the university were arrested, according to The Daily Californian<\/a>, which omitted the suspects’ names from its report. They were described as females between the ages of 20 and 22. Each was reportedly charged with felony vandalism<\/a>.<\/p>\n The UC Berkeley Police Department confirmed that two other men were arrested during the night’s activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Christopher Joseph Benton, 48, who is unaffiliated with the school, was arrested for trespassing, resisting or obstructing an officer and being unlawfully present on campus, all misdemeanors.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jay Eduardo Maytorena, 22, listed as a current or former student, was arrested for trespassing and resisting or obstructing an officer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Several of the skirmishes at the event went viral, including a man caught on video beating a Turning Point USA supporter who was arrested and charged with violent crimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Police said that upon further investigation, the second man involved in the fight was attempting to rob the victim of his necklace.\u00a0<\/p>\n “After speaking with the involved parties and corroborating information through open-source media footage, officers determined that one of the men\u2014Jihad Dphrepaulezz (a 25-year-old Oakland man) had stolen the other man\u2019s chain from around his neck,” police said. “The other man was attempting to get his chain back from Dphrepaulezz.”<\/p>\n GAVIN NEWSOM TELLS DEMOCRATS THEY ‘WALKED AWAY’ FROM MASCULINITY CRISIS IMPACTING MEN AND BOYS<\/a><\/p>\n Newsom, who is in Brazil attending the COP 30 climate conference, has not posted about the disruption of the event, which conservatives have labeled as an assault on free speech.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.<\/p>\n Newsom famously sat down for an interview with Kirk before the conservative commentator was murdered, and the two briefly touched<\/a> on free speech while discussing TikTok. Newsom raised concerns about teachers “policing speech” in classrooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Grateful this level of attention being paid to what happened to our students last night at UC Berkeley,” Turning Point USA’s Andrew Kolvet posted on X.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n “No one attending a peaceful event should be subjected to the type of harassment and attacks we saw last night. The Antifa thugs who did this MUST be stopped.”<\/p>\n The Department of Justice announced<\/a> it is investigating the campus chaos.<\/p>\n “Mob assault and thuggish intimidation of attendees exercising their First Amendment rights<\/a> are unacceptable,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote in a post announcing the probe on X.<\/p>\n![\"California](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763027554_899_gavin-newsom.jpg\")
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