A conservative editor was scheduled to exercise his right to free speech at a liberal California university, so the radical left responded exactly as you’d expect: Rioting, looting, and violence. Their outrageous actions included the vicious beating of multiple women.
Tuesday’s mob at the University of California at Berkeley also hurled smoke bombs, broke windows and sparked a massive bonfire. Their violent actions prompted officials to call off the event out of safety concerns.
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The decision came two hours before Wednesday’s talk by Milo Yiannopoulos, an editor of Breitbart News, after some 1,500 people had gathered outside the venue.
Protests turned violent as groups dressed in black and in hooded sweatshirts used the cover of night to break windows, throw smoke bombs and flares, and start the raging blaze outside the building.
One disturbing video shows a woman being brutally attacked by a mob of protesters armed with clubs and poles:
Another video posted to Twitter shows a female Trump supporter giving an interview (and actually applauding those who are peacefully protesting) when she is pepper sprayed without warning:
My friend was giving an interview when some coward peppersprayed her #Berkeley pic.twitter.com/CDpEqDsw2A
— bibi janey (@janeygak) February 2, 2017
“This was a group of agitators who were masked up, throwing rocks, commercial grade fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers,” said UC Berkeley Police Chief Margo Bennet.
Bennet said police determined at that point they couldn’t guarantee security, canceled the event and evacuated Yiannopoulos from the building.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday morning to comment, tweeting:
If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view – NO FEDERAL FUNDS?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017
Yiannopoulos, a 32-year-old right-wing editor, is a vocal supporter of Trump. His visit to Berkeley was sponsored by the campus Republican club.
“The event has been cancelled,” Yiannopoulos posted on his Facebook page. “I’ll let you know more when the facts become clear. One thing we do know for sure: the Left is absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it down.”
The Berkeley College Republicans said its “constitutional right to free speech was silenced by criminals and thugs.”
“Their success is a defeat for civilized society and the free exchange of ideas on college campuses across America,” it said in a statement.
The university, which had requested assistance from police in nine UC campuses, sent a notice to all students earlier Wednesday that warned of crowds near the student union, where the 500-seat, sold-out event was scheduled.
Yiannopoulos’ talks have sparked protests, shouting matches and outbreaks of violence at stops around the country. A protester, mistaken for a Trump supporter, was shot and seriously wounded at protests outside his Jan. 21 talk at the University of Washington.
Rowdy protests at UC Davis Jan. 13 prompted campus Republicans to cancel his appearance at the last minute. His final stop was supposed to be UCLA on Thursday but the invitation was rescinded, making Berkeley his grand finale.
These actions prove liberals only support free speech when it applies to ideas they agree with.
And if they don’t agree, they respond with alarming violence.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.