Justice Department investigating UC Berkeley protests during Turning Point USA event

By Matthew Rehbein, CNN

(CNN) — The Department of Justice announced Tuesday it is investigating protests that broke out at the University of California, Berkeley, this week during an event held by Turning Point USA, the group founded by slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk that caters to youth on American campuses.

Protesters gathered hours before the event, with some seen in standoffs with lines of police. Several arrests were made by both city and university officers, according to UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof, who condemned any violence around the event.

Both the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force and the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division will investigate what happened during the event Monday, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who oversees the Civil Rights Division.

The investigation will involve “a deep dive into all the potential criminal and civil aspects of this horrific situation, including our concerns about UC Berkeley’s history of not protecting conservative speakers on its campus,” Dhillon said on X, noting the UC Berkeley Police Department has been asked to preserve all records regarding its response at Monday’s event.

The university is conducting its own investigation and will fully cooperate with federal authorities “to identify the outside agitators responsible for attempting to disrupt last night’s TPUSA event,” Mogulof said in a statement Tuesday.

“There is no place at UC Berkeley for attempts to use violence or intimidation to prevent lawful expression or chill free speech,” Mogulof said.

The university spokesperson noted the Turning Point event “proceeded safely and without interruption, with more than 900 participants in attendance.”

At least three people were arrested Monday, the UC Berkeley police department and the city’s Berkeley Police Department told CNN affiliate KGO. One of those was a student who was released after being cited. Another individual was charged with trespassing and obstruction, according to KGO.

One man seen being taken into custody with a bloodied face was later identified by police as a victim and released. Witnesses told KGO the man was assaulted while selling Turning Point merchandise. Another man taken in custody at the same time was charged with robbery and battery, KGO reported.

CNN has reached out to university and city police for more details.

Both Dhillon and Bondi described the protests as violent and blamed Antifa, the anti-fascism movement President Donald Trump designated as a domestic terrorist organization in September. Last month the DOJ brought its first federal terrorism case against alleged Antifa-aligned operatives.

“The violent riots at UC Berkeley last night are under full investigation by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force. We will continue to spare no expense unmasking all who commit and orchestrate acts of political violence,” Bondi wrote on X, describing Antifa as “an existential threat to our nation.”

The president of Turning Point’s UC Berkeley chapter condemned the violence but acknowledged most protests on Monday were peaceful, according to KGO.

“There’s only a handful of incidents … but a handful of incidents is too many,” chapter president John Paul Leon said.

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