The Justice Department has opened an investigation into protests outside a Turning Point USA event at the University of California, Berkeley, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday. She said the probe, led by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, is part of President Trump’s nationwide effort to dismantle violent domestic terrorist networks.
Monday night’s incident followed two months after TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk was killed on a Utah campus. The sold-out Berkeley event marked the final stop of a campus tour held in his memory. Videos from the scene showed scuffles between police and protesters, with smoke bombs ignited near the venue.
Berkeley police said two men were detained for public fighting, though one was later released after officers confirmed he was trying to recover a stolen chain. Campus police arrested two others for disobeying orders, including one student. A 45-year-old attendee was hospitalized after being struck by a glass bottle.
UC Berkeley said it is conducting its own review and cooperating with federal authorities to identify “outside agitators” who attempted to disrupt the event, reaffirming that “violence or intimidation” have no place on campus.
