Arrests made at Turning Point USA's campus event at UC-Berkeley
by Chris Benson · UPINov. 11 (UPI) -- A protest at the University of California's Berkeley campus erupted for an on-campus event by the conservative group Turning Point USA.
The sold-out "This is the Turning Point" tour event took place Monday evening about two months after the death of its founder and leader, conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot to death on the campus of Utah Valley University.
"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," Andrew Simmalaychanh, a junior in his first year at UC Berkeley, told CBS News.
The event drew opposition from the community and Berkeley's student body that resulted in multiple arrests in violent clashes and chants of "UC Berkeley makes it clear: Fascists are not welcome here," according to the Berkeley Scanner.
The ongoing tour event inside Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall continued as planned and showcased such speakers like comedian Rob Schneider, who condemned ongoing political violence.
Police kept a heavy presence as protesters demonstrated for hours before and during the TPUSA event.
"Charlie was a great influence on my life," said high school senior Isaiah Larceval. "How to live as a man and a godly man," he said.
Meanwhile, students expressed a sense of surprise that progressive UC Berkeley would sanction Turning Point's campus event that continue despite Kirk's September assassination.