Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced that the Justice Department is initiating a full investigation into the violence that took place outside of a Turning Point USA event at the University of California, Berkeley, on Monday night.
“Mob assault and thuggish intimidation of attendees exercising their First Amendment rights are unacceptable,” Dhillon wrote in a Tuesday social media post, along with an image of a letter addressed to UC Berkeley’s president, James Milliken.
Mob assault and thuggish intimidation of attendees exercising their First Amendment rights are unacceptable.
The @CivilRights Division, under @AGPamBondi, is initiating a full investigation into the potential failures at UC Berkeley and any who enabled such violence. pic.twitter.com/k34eClLDyi
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) November 11, 2025
The event featured actor Rob Schneider, comedian Andrew Doyle, and Christian author Frank Turek, who was a friend and mentor to Charlie Kirk and spoke at his memorial in September.
Fox News reported that event attendees had to navigate through extremely hostile agitators affiliated with Antifa as they entered and left the venue.
UC BERKELEY- Here are the two main agitators who continued to try to break down the event barriers tonight.
One is covered in trans flag patches reading “fags against fascism” and the other is an Asian protester who kept his face covered throughout the night. @TPUSA |… pic.twitter.com/8kOy24rlfO
— FRONTLINES TPUSA (@FrontlinesTPUSA) November 11, 2025
In her letter to Milliken, Dhillon wrote, “The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division has recently become aware of concerning incidents occurring on your campus at the University of California (UC), Berkeley on or about November 10, 2025.”
Is Antifa a serious threat to America?
“Our office previously opened investigations of the University of California System for potential violations of Title VI and Title VII based on other events. We will determine whether the events of November 10 should also be included in those investigations,” she continued.
“We are also determining whether recent events provide a basis for additional investigation of violations of federal rights, including, without limitation, violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution,” Dhillon, who is from the San Francisco Bay area, where Berkeley is located, added in her letter.
She instructed Milliken to preserve all records relevant to the school’s preparation and response to the Turning Point USA event.
UC Berkeley currently looks like a war zone.
An ANTIFA member just lit off a flare resulting in TPUSA event attendees being rushed inside.
A car then comes and starts backfiring visibly scaring multiple attendees who feared they were hearing gunshots. @TPUSA | @Savsays pic.twitter.com/u3mG8rJDSx
— FRONTLINES TPUSA (@FrontlinesTPUSA) November 11, 2025
Dhillon told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday, “It is not a both sides problem. When a violent mob like Antifa comes and attacks like this, it’s what we call a heckler’s veto in First Amendment jurisprudence.”
“And given the fact that there has now been a terrorist designation here, the Joint Terrorism Task Force is going to be looking into this together with the DOJ, my Civil Rights Division, and the FBI,” she added.
Dhillon noted that it was a sold-out event for the 2,000-seat academic hall, but less than 1,000 came because of the violence.
🚨 BREAKING: Assistant AG Harmeet Dhillon says federal CRIMINAL CHARGES are being looked at after Antifa waged war on Turning Point USA last night at UC Berkeley…
…and BOTH the university AND local police are now being investigated.
“It is NOT a both sides problem. When a… pic.twitter.com/gNVKEPvJEn
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 12, 2025
She told Ingraham that potential violations of federal law include conspiracy to violate civil rights and hate crime statutes.
TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet pointed out to Fox News host Jesse Watters that the university put the cordoned-off “free speech plaza” immediately in front of the venue’s entrance.
“So of course, all chaos broke out,” he said.
What happened at UC Berkeley last night was an abomination. We need accountability to make sure that violent Antifa thugs are never able to attack our students ever again.
It’s well past time to smash Antifa.
Thank you @JesseBWatters 🙏 pic.twitter.com/q27zmLYYuI
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) November 12, 2025
Berkeley provided a statement to Fox News, saying, “The University is conducting a full investigation and intends to fully cooperate with and assist any federal investigations and the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force to identify the outside agitators responsible for attempting to disrupt last night’s TPUSA event.”
“UC Berkeley will take all appropriate steps to safeguard the right of every member of our community to speak and assemble freely,” the school added.
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