Antifa protesters and rioters continued their tradition of attempting to shut down conservative events on Monday, November 10th, targeting a Turning Points USA (TPUSA) gathering at UC Berkeley.
Police maintained a heavy presence as antifa threw bottles and smoke bombs outside the event. At least three people were arrested in the aftermath, including someone aptly named Jihad, who started a fight with one of the attendees.
Protesters chanted “Fuck your dead homie,” disparaging murdered TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, at people waiting to enter the event. In the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination, many leftists claimed that he had brought it upon himself through his rhetoric. Several protesters clearly shared this view, which is part of a long-running effort to delegitimize conservative opinion and categorize it as “hate speech.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi has opened a federal anti-terrorism investigation into the attacks outside the event. This follows President Donald J. Trump’s recent official designation of antifa as a terrorist organization. The Democratic Party has continually attempted to minimize the threat represented by antifa, simultaneously blaming conservative rhetoric for provoking violence while denying that the violence exists. Former President Joe Biden falsely claimed that “[…] Antifa is an idea, not an organization, not militias […]” during a 2020 debate with President Trump.
The violence at UC Berkeley echoes on-campus agitation following Trump’s 2017 inauguration, when conservative pundit Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak. The event was cancelled after masked antifa set fires, lobbed Molotov cocktails, and threw rocks at police officers. Since then, the organization has regularly attempted to shut down conservative events, and it was responsible for widespread arson and property destruction during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots.
The TPUSA event on Monday went forward as scheduled, despite the intimidation attempts. Thankfully, the country is currently run by a president that recognizes left-wing radicalism as a threat, rather than one that denies its existence.
