Violence erupted outside a conservative event at UC Berkeley, and now the Department of Justice is stepping in to investigate what went wrong.
Fox News reported that on Monday, chaos unfolded outside Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus during a Turning Point USA event, the final stop of their "This is the Turning Point" tour, leading to multiple arrests, injuries, and a federal probe into potential civil rights violations.
The event, featuring actor Rob Schneider and author Frank Turek—a Christian mentor to the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk—drew over 900 attendees who braved a hostile mob to get inside.
Left-wing agitators swarmed the venue, creating a tense and sometimes violent atmosphere that forced attendees to navigate through jeering crowds just to enter or exit.
Campus police struggled to hold back a screaming mob, while reports of physical altercations emerged, including a man in a "FREEDOM" T-shirt being beaten just off campus.
Inside, the event proceeded uninterrupted, a small victory for free speech amid the surrounding storm, though the outside chaos painted a grim picture of campus discourse.
At least eight individuals faced arrest during the unrest, with campus police confirming two detentions directly tied to the event’s exterior turmoil.
Among them, Jihad Dphrepaulezz, 25, was charged with robbery and battery after allegedly stealing a chain and engaging in a street brawl, while Christopher Joseph Benton, 48, unaffiliated with the university, faced misdemeanor charges for trespassing and resisting officers.
Additionally, Jay Eduardo Maytorena, 22, a current or former student, and four Berkeley students were arrested for various offenses, including felony vandalism for an anti-Turning Point display placed in a restricted area.
The next day, on November 11, 2025, a 45-year-old man suffered a head laceration after being struck with a glass bottle or jar, requiring hospital treatment, though no arrests have been reported in connection with this incident.
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division swiftly launched an investigation, citing “concerning incidents” on campus around the event date, and demanded that UC Berkeley preserve all records related to security and preparation.
“Mob assault and thuggish intimidation of attendees exercising their First Amendment rights are unacceptable,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon posted on X, signaling a no-nonsense approach to the federal response.
The DOJ is now evaluating whether this unrest ties into broader investigations of the University of California System for possible violations of federal laws, including the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
UC Berkeley, for its part, condemned the violence and vowed to cooperate fully with federal inquiries, including assisting the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force to identify outside agitators behind the disruption.
“UC Berkeley will take all appropriate steps to safeguard the right of every member of our community to speak and assemble freely,” the university stated to Fox News Digital, a promise that many hope will translate into real action rather than just soothing words.
