The Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun a “deep dive” investigation into Antifa violence at the University of California, Berkeley.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced her visit to the campus on Thursday, saying she would be speaking to witnesses and others as part of the probe.
“Looking forward to meeting in person today in CA with my FBI & DOJ colleagues in CA investigating Antifa violence and security failures at UC Berkeley,” Dhillon wrote on X. “I discussed this with President Trump and AG Pam Bondi, who are both fully committed to ending this Antifa reign of terror!”
On Tuesday, the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force and the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said they would be looking into the protests that erupted on Monday night during an event held by Turning Point USA (TPUSA) on campus. TPUSA was founded by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10 during a TPUSA event at Utah Valley University.
Images from the scene on Nov. 10 at Berkeley show clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators and several people being arrested.
TPUSA said violent agitators were causing chaos on campus.
“Right now at our Turning Point USA campus tour stop at UC Berkeley… Antifa is breaking through police barricades and threatening our event attendees,” TPUSA chief of staff Mikey McCoy wrote on X.
Witnesses said fights broke out even before the event started. Independent journalist Andy Ngo shared video of chanting crowds surrounding a campus building.
By All Means Necessary (BAMN) was one of the groups that participated in campus demonstrations on Monday night, sharing a photo on social media showing its opposition to TPUSA.
NTD reached out to UC Berkeley seeking a statement on the DOJ’s probe, but did not receive a response as of Thursday morning.
In two letters to university officials shared on X, the DOJ requested campus communication records related to how the university prepared security for the TPUSA event and responded to the protests.
“This administration, @TheJusticeDept, and @CivilRights. will be doing a deep dive into all the potential criminal and civil aspects of this horrific situation, including our concerns about UC Berkeley’s history of not protecting conservative speakers on its campus,” Dhillon said.
President Donald Trump in September signed an executive order designating Antifa, short for “anti-fascists,” as a domestic terrorist organization.
The executive order states that Antifa “uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide” to attempt to overthrow the U.S. government. The order directs federal agencies to use every authority to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations, including terrorist actions, conducted by the group or anyone acting on its behalf.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
