CBS Bay Area says "dozens of mostly peaceful protestors" at Turning Point Event, Justice Department investigating violent riot

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday that the Justice Department has opened an investigation into the protests that took place outside a Turning Point USA event at the University of California, Berkeley, suggesting the probe is part of President Trump’s broader effort to target antifa. Bondi said in a post on X that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is now examining what she termed “violent riots” that erupted Monday night.

The event was notable not only for drawing controversy, but also because it marked the final stop of Turning Point USA’s nationwide campus tour held in the wake of founder Charlie Kirk’s death two months ago on a Utah college campus. The gathering was sold out, and drew both supporters and demonstrators.

On Monday evening, several dozen protesters assembled near the venue. Although most remained peaceful, clashes occurred between demonstrators and police, and video from the scene captured moments of pushing, as well as smoke bombs being thrown. Berkeley police reported arresting two men on suspicion of public fighting, though one was released after officers determined he had been trying to retrieve a stolen chain. Campus police arrested two others—one student and one non-affiliate—for refusing to follow instructions. A 45-year-old attendee was struck with a glass bottle and taken to a hospital.

UC Berkeley said in a statement that it is conducting its own investigation and will work with federal authorities to identify “outside agitators” responsible for trying to disrupt the event. The university added that it rejects any use of violence or intimidation to silence lawful expression or suppress free speech.

Berkeley has a long history of protests surrounding appearances by conservative speakers. In 2017, a scheduled talk by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was canceled after large crowds gathered, leading to fires and property damage.

Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, also signaled that the Justice Department is looking into broader security concerns at the campus. Bondi, meanwhile, explicitly invoked antifa in her announcement of the federal probe, calling the movement an “existential threat” to the country.

President Trump issued an executive order in September designating antifa as a domestic terrorist organization and instructing federal agencies to use all appropriate tools to investigate and disrupt its activities. Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is often used as an umbrella term for far-left and anarchist groups or individuals. The Congressional Research Service has said the movement is decentralized, lacking a central leadership structure or unified ideology, but broadly aligns with anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian beliefs.

The Justice Department recently brought its first-ever case alleging material support for antifa, charging two Texas men in connection with a violent July Fourth attack on an ICE facility in Alvarado. Prosecutors described the suspects as part of an “Antifa cell” that had planned an assault using guns and explosives.

Despite Trump’s push to aggressively target the movement, some legal scholars note that “domestic terrorism” is not itself a formal federal criminal charge, raising questions about how far these efforts can go under current law.

Source: CBS NEWS