IN A CAMPUS FULL OF gold and blue, red hats populated the south side of University of California, Berkeley as over 300 attendees arrived for a speaking event Monday where actor Rob Schneider and speaker and author Frank Turek appeared as featured guests for the Berkeley chapter of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA.
Two months after the fatal shooting of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, the final stop of the controversial college speaking tour happened Monday at UC Berkeley and was met by over 100 protesters looking to voice dissatisfaction about the organization and overall conservative movement.
The event and protests remained relatively peaceful, but multiple people were taken into custody by police. Two of those individuals were in a physical altercation that left one of them bloodied in the face before being separated by Berkeley police and placed into separate vehicles.
A large police presence at the campus included Berkeley police, Alameda County sheriff’s deputies and San Francisco police.
Turning Point USA is a nonprofit conservative advocacy group that has found a foothold across many college campuses. The chapter at UC Berkeley was founded in 2019. Kirk, the organization’s co-founder, was shot and killed at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
The brawl occurred after a protester allegedly threw the merchandise the Kirk supporter was selling onto the floor. As the argument between both men became physical, they began to fight by Bancroft Way. Police created a perimeter around the fight that blocked traffic for several city blocks.
A car later traveled down Bancroft with the sound of loud banging trailing behind it, which spooked many protesters. The vehicle then stopped across from the gathering of over one hundred and proceeded to produce vast amounts of smoke and loud bangs. The vehicle then sped away, a police car in pursuit.
Turning Point USA is a nonprofit conservative advocacy group that has found a foothold across many college campuses. The chapter at UC Berkeley was founded in 2019 and has quickly become a vocal conservative group on a campus known for its largely progressive student body.
Protests against TPUSA’s event were organized by several groups. Activists like By Any Means Necessary showed up with megaphones and signs in an attempt to disrupt the event and show the university that they didn’t like TPUSA’s presence.
University defends stance on free speech
UC Berkeley administrators have historically not set limits on what groups can come on to campus to speak. Campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said the university worked with the school’s chapter of Turning Point USA to ensure they could conduct their event safely.
“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,” said Mogulof in an email. “The campus relies on the professional security assessments and recommendations provided by UCPD so that events sponsored by student organizations can be held successfully and safely.”
In preparation for the event, the university closed four adjacent buildings as a precaution and created five points of entry and exit that could be monitored by dozens of police and security forces. Private security was joined by law enforcement from the University of California Police Department, Berkeley and San Francisco police departments, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol.
Student Anna Martinez found the presence of Turning Point USA advocates disruptive and said she was disappointed to see that a building she needed to enter was blocked due to the event.
“All of these student buildings are closed so a group of conservative speakers can feel safe, when we students don’t feel safe when they come here,” Martinez said.
Voices from both sides
On the day of the event, both protesters and attendees traveled from across the state, with some coming as far as the Central Valley or Lake Tahoe.
Mario Fierro from Visalia said he wanted to show up and support TPUSA because he feels the conservative movement in California has been forgotten about.
“California is a diverse place, but there’s still a place for conservative people and conservative values that we uphold,” said Fierro. “We come willing, open-armed, willing to converse and willing to engage with the other side and hopefully do everything peaceful.”
Grace Fortune, a high school teacher from Lodi, said she wanted to attend the event because she feels TPUSA supports her Christian faith.
“Ever since Charlie Kirk got assassinated, I support them,” she said. “There should be clubs for anyone you know that can be proud of what they believe in and not feel ashamed for what they believe in.”
Fortune said that the politics were not as important to her as what she said Kirk’s Christian message was.
“It was more about the faith in Christ and being proud and courageous about his faith in Christ,” she said.
The rest of the night remained relatively free of violence, but the tension between police and protesters was palpable. Police would swap positions in regular intervals and would hold their batons in case protesters broke across the barricade, while other officers waited to the side with empty projectile firearms.
On the opposite side, protesters chanted things like “fascists are not welcome here!” and “hey hey! Ho ho! Fascists have got to go!” directly into the faces of the police officers. They held steady with their chanting and occasionally paused to boo and yell “shame” at the officers.
Protester Christopher Jones decided to show up because the type of speech TPUSA promotes helps fuel hatred and bigotry, he said.
“Do we have free speech? Yes. But that doesn’t mean we want hate speech to come to this campus and be full of rhetoric that targets those most vulnerable,” said Jones. “It’s a mockery to have them come here and say they are nonviolent when their very words create harm across the country.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include additional details about the protests, police response and statements from attendees and university officials.
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