The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that it is investigating the University of California, Berkeley, over the security arrangements for the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event. Antifa and others threatened many entering or leaving the event, including reportedly blocking hundreds from the sold-out event to celebrate free speech and the legacy of murdered Charlie Kirk.
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon shared a letter to UC Berkeley Police Chief Yogananda Pittman, instructing her to “preserve all records” in her possession that are “relevant to the agency’s preparation, execution, and response to the Turning Point event.”
In my book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” I discuss how universities have used security issues to cancel conservative speakers as well as a lack of protection by both universities and cities.
The result is that Antifa and other groups can easily disrupt events. The long-standing concern is that some university and municipal departments have been passive-aggressive in facilitating this “heckler’s veto” of speakers.
In the book, I call for the federal government to prioritize the protection of free speech events in the same manner as it has protected other rights, including civil rights.
There should be a priority in protecting what John Stuart Mill called these “circles” where ideas are shared and debated.
The university fielded a sizable security force for this event and I am not making any assumptions about a lack of efforts by the university.
However, there are allegations that the security allowed violent protesters to be in close proximity to people entering or leaving the event. The result is that many were threatened, spat on, and shoved by protesters. Many could not make it into the event.
The contrast was striking.
These protesters were screaming threats and spitting on people who wanted to attend an event supporting free speech. It was intolerable for these protesters that opposing views could be expressed or heard on campus.
There were signature elements of Antifa at the event with black-clad extremists fueling violence and threatening anyone who wanted to hear the speakers.
Without prejudging the outcome of the investigation, the notice to Berkeley serves a valuable purpose in warning universities that their actions will be scrutinized in such controversies.
Too often, universities allow hecklers to disrupt events, as when Stanford law students stopped Judge Kyle Duncan from speaking at the law school.
The TPUSA event was long planned, as were the protests.
This was not some flash mob but an organized effort to try to cancel the free speech event. The preparations by the university do not appear to have been sufficient, but that does not mean that it was evidence of premeditated or passive-aggressive conduct. However, the review of the preparations is an important warning that, for the first time, universities will face inquiries over such breaches or failures in protecting First Amendment activities.
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