The Department of Justice announced it will open an investigation into protests at the University of California, Berkeley, following violent clashes and multiple arrests at a Turning Point USA event Monday night — a scene that critics say reflects the university’s ongoing struggle to protect free speech on campus.
Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant attorney general, said in a statement on the social platform X that the DOJ will “investigate what happened here,” citing “several issues of serious concern regarding campus and local security and Antifa’s ability to operate with impunity in CA.” Dhillon’s remarks came after reports described the Turning Point rally at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall as devolving into chaos, with demonstrators confronting attendees and police intervening to disperse crowds.
“We saw all of this at Berkeley back in 2017,” Dhillon wrote, referring to earlier incidents in which conservative speakers were shouted down or physically threatened on the same campus. “@UCBerkeley was sued, and settled the case.” She added pointedly, “In America, we do not allow citizens to be attacked by violent thugs and shrug and turn our backs. Been there, done that, not on our watch.”
Local television station KRON reported that students and community members gathered outside the event to protest Turning Point USA, a conservative student organization known for promoting free-market and pro-American values.
What began as a demonstration of dissent escalated into violent confrontations, resulting in arrests and property damage.
The unrest has renewed questions about whether UC Berkeley — once synonymous with the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s — has become a hostile environment for ideological diversity.
Conservative activists have long accused the university of failing to safeguard events that feature right-leaning speakers, while allowing left-wing agitators to disrupt them without consequence.
Dhillon’s comments suggest the Justice Department is preparing to take a harder look at those claims. “@UCBerkeley and the City of Berkeley should expect some incoming @CivilRights correspondence,” she warned. Her remarks indicate that the federal investigation may extend beyond campus administrators to include city officials responsible for maintaining public order.
The DOJ probe also comes amid other federal scrutiny of UC Berkeley. In April, the Department of Education launched an investigation into the university for allegedly failing to properly disclose foreign funding, a possible violation of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. At the time, the department said documents provided by the university were “incomplete or inaccurate.”
When asked about the latest developments, UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof said the university “has not been notified of any federal investigation.”
For conservatives, the violence at Berkeley and the federal response underscore a broader cultural divide over speech and tolerance on American campuses.
What was once considered the birthplace of free expression has become, critics argue, a testing ground for how far universities will go to protect — or suppress — political dissent.
As Dhillon put it, the Justice Department’s message is clear: “Not on our watch.”
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