Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Protesters clashed with police at a Charlie Kirk tribute event at the University of California, Berkeley, on Monday.
- Eight arrests were made, including four students, all women, for felony vandalism charges.
- The event, attended by actor Rob Schneider, faced organized protests by what he claimed as antifa supporters.
BERKELEY, Calif. — Protesters gathered outside the last stop of Charlie Kirk's "Prove Me Wrong" tour hosted by Kirk's nonprofit, Turning Point USA, at the University of California, Berkeley, on Monday, exactly two months after Kirk's first tour stop in Utah, where the conservative activist was assassinated in front of 3,000 attendees.
At least eight people were arrested in connection with the TPUSA event, including four students who were apprehended for felony vandalism charges before it began, according to Fox News.
The four students, reportedly all women, "were arrested while attempting to hang a '5-foot-tall cardboard bug' from Sather Gate, which is a historical landmark on UC Berkeley's campus, in protest of the event," the news outlet added.
As attendees approached the building where the event was being held, they were shielded by a barrier of law enforcement holding back protesters, some of whom were chanting explicit phrases and some wearing keffiyehs, many with full face coverings.
Andy Ngo, a journalist known for his reporting on antifa, said the group was believed to have organized the protests.
"The violent Antifa attack at UC Berkeley on the TPUSA event was organized by the violent outsider Antifa group, By Any Means Necessary," he posted on X. "The group was involved in organizing prior Antifa attacks on the campus and in the city."
Some college students who participated in the protest told CBS News they were pleased to see people still fighting back against the late conservative activist and TPUSA.
"To get out here and to be in community and to really advocate for the values that we hold as an institution, to hold ourselves as students accountable and to be here and show up to protect the rights of so many people and fight against hatred and bigotry," said Andrew Simmalaychanh.
Another student, Lily, told the news outlet, "Knowing what he (Kirk) did, and knowing the things he was saying was just vile and disgusting, so we don't want to support his organization. ... I don't think the Berkeley chancellor should have let them come here."
Frontlines TPUSA posted on X that the atmosphere looked like an active combat zone, with flares being lit, and cars backfiring, making a sound similar to gunfire.
Andrew Kolvert, TPUSA spokesperson and executive producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show," posted a video of a packed Zellerbach Hall of people holding up images of Kirk at the university, and wrote, "Despite Antifa thugs blocking our campus tour stop with tear gas, fireworks, and glass bottles, we had a PACKED HOUSE in the heart of deep blue UC Berkeley."
"God bless these brave students," he added. "For Charlie."
The event included guests, actor and comedian Rob Schneider, and Christian apologist and author Frank Turek.
On Tuesday, Schneider posted on X his gratitude for the event and people showing up despite the disturbance outside.
"I would like to thank ALL the courageous Cal Berkeley students who REFUSED to be intimidated by the 'not very tolerant' Left," he said. "We KNOW who the REAL FASCISTS are … the thugs who DON'T WANT FREE SPEECH."
In September, President Donald Trump designated antifa as a "domestic terrorist organization" and posted on Truth Social, calling the group "A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION."
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Emma Pitts
