Monday night in Berkeley was a sickening reminder that the American campus has become a battleground where left-wing mobs now feel free to threaten and terrorize anyone who dares to voice a conservative idea. Turning Point USA’s final stop at UC Berkeley was met not with debate but with chants, taunts, and scenes of chaos that should make every patriot worry about the state of free speech on our campuses.
Video from the scene shows what conservatives have warned about for years: what begins as intimidation quickly turns into outright violence, with a vendor reportedly assaulted, a necklace allegedly stolen, and people ending up bloody on the sidewalk. This wasn’t peaceful protest; it was a coordinated mob trying to shut down speech and humiliate those who came to listen.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has rightly opened an inquiry and demanded UC Berkeley preserve records, and that investigation needs to be thorough and swift so the rule of law is restored where lawlessness took hold. If federal prosecutors find university officials or local police turned a blind eye to intimidation, there must be consequences — our constitutional freedoms are not optional.
The predictable liberal playbook is already in motion: downplay the violence, paint the victims as provocateurs, and lecture everyone about nuance while brave conservatives get punched and mocked outside school gates. UC Berkeley’s line that the event “proceeded safely” rings hollow to anyone who watched footage of barriers breached, exits blocked, and attendees trapped by hostile mobs.
Voices across the right, from commentators to independent hosts like Dave Rubin, are sounding the alarm — and with good reason. Rubin shared a clip of his appearance on Fox’s Will Cain show to highlight how this rising pattern of left-wing violence is not isolated but accelerating, and he’s right: when universities and cities tolerate this behavior, it metastasizes.
Americans who love liberty must not back down. Law enforcement and federal authorities must hold the perpetrators and their enablers to account, campus administrations must stop protecting political mobs, and conservative activists should double down on peaceful, lawful civic engagement until the culture once again values debate over destruction.
