Harmeet Dhillon has formally warned UC Berkeley after a violent clash at a Turning Point USA event, calling out campus tolerance for political violence and pointing to a pattern of harassment against conservative students.
Last night’s Turning Point USA event at the University of California, Berkeley erupted into chaos when a mob attacked attendees and disrupted the program. Witnesses say the confrontation grew violent quickly, leaving at least one man bleeding and sparking alarm about campus safety. The scene underlined how fractious campus politics have become when opposing views show up in public on school property.
The disturbance took place as the tour wrapped up a run of campus appearances and was scheduled to include speakers Dr. Frank Turek and Rob Schneider. Reports note the melee began around 4:30 PST and involved a physical fight between at least two men, with one sustaining visible facial injuries. The incident follows heightened tensions after the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk at a separate campus event this year.
A bloody fight broke out near the University of California, Berkeley, on Monday afternoon, ahead of a Turning Point USA event on campus.
The event, which will feature Dr. Frank Turek and Rob Schneider, marks the end of the “This Is The Turning Point” tour.
It takes place just two months after TPUSA’s founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a campus event in Utah on Sept. 10.
The confrontation erupted at around 4:30 PST. During the brawl, two men were seen fighting each other, one of whom had blood gushing from his face.
Matt Vespa’s observation rings true for a lot of conservative students and alumni: “College campuses should be a bastion of free speech. Sure, they’re also liberal cesspools, but one used to be able to voice a contrary opinion that ran counter to the progressive ethos without total war breaking out.” That frank point highlights the growing expectation on the left that dissent must be shouted down rather than debated. For many on the right, the idea of a campus debate now comes with serious personal risk.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has publicly put UC Berkeley on notice over the violence and the environment that allowed it to happen. She emphasized that universities can’t ignore organized threats to peaceful expression and must enforce laws and campus policies protecting students of all viewpoints. Dhillon pointed to prior incidents and legal settlements that show Berkeley has struggled for years with similar clashes and complaints.
Berkeley’s campus climate has been under scrutiny for other reasons, too, with reports that some programs and rhetoric on campus portray federal law enforcement like ICE as a tool of racial hierarchy. Conservative groups have long warned that such messaging contributes to an atmosphere where harassment of opposing views seems acceptable. In 2020, a TPUSA worker was assaulted on campus while distributing conservative literature, and the school previously settled litigation over related conduct in 2017.
Dhillon also amplified documentation from independent journalists and commentators who tracked the network behind this attack, calling out Antifa-affiliated organizing at the scene and demanding accountability from university officials. She reposted material drawing connections between the attackers and groups that have a history of violent disruptions on college campuses. That material is in the public record and has been circulated widely among those following campus free speech battles.
Reporters and commentators have pointed to specific organizers and local networks that mobilize to shut down conservative appearances, asking why those groups are allowed to keep operating. One thread of coverage flagged an Antifa-affiliated group as central to the planning of the Berkeley confrontation. The wider conversation now centers on whether universities will cooperate with law enforcement to deter repeat behavior.
Another public post questioned why Antifa remains tolerated while conservative students face repeated intimidation and violence on campus. Voices on the right are pressing officials to treat political violence the same regardless of ideology and to protect students from harassment. Those calls underline the legal expectation that campuses remain neutral arenas for speech rather than safe harbors for coordinated attacks.
Legally, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and related protections mean students must be allowed to engage in campus life without fear of targeted harassment because of their political beliefs. Administrators who fail to stop organized intimidation risk not only campus disorder but also legal consequences and federal scrutiny. For conservative students, the demand is simple: equal protection and the ability to participate in education without being terrorized off campus.
