SACRAMENTO, Calif. — About 100 protesters picketed and clashed with police Tuesday evening at the University of California, Davis in a demonstration against a far-right radio show host speaking on campus at a conservative student group event.
The event — organized by the UC Davis chapter of Turning Point USA — featured keynote speaker Charlie Kirk with his thoughts on “American values,” according to information posted online by the group. Turning Point USA is a nationwide nonprofit that advocates for conservatism on higher education campuses.
The Sacramento Bee was not given access to listen to the speech by Kirk — who founded and leads Turning Point, a nationwide group of 250,000 student members — but in previous talks he has discussed the challenges faced by conservative youth attending college and has criticized universities that he argues have been taken over by the “totalitarian left.” He has argued that there is no such thing as white privilege, calling it a “racist lie,” and has furthered conspiracy theories about election fraud, COVID-19 and climate change.
UC Davis Police Department officers carrying batons and wearing tactical gear, including helmets with face shields and protective body armor, stood in lines at spots around the University Credit Union Center, where the event was held.
Two people were arrested during the demonstration, UC Davis officials said in a news release, both of whom allegedly painted graffiti on an exterior wall of the building.
University officials also said one campus police officer was injured “when he was jumped on from behind and pushed to the ground.” The injuries were not serious, according to the news release.
The university did not identify the two people who were arrested, but said at least one of them was not affiliated with UC Davis.
There were reports of eggs thrown and pepper spraying, but aside from pepper spray, “no major physical injuries were reported, and no one requested treatment for injuries,” university officials said.
The protesters moved around the building; at times going face to face with officers. They repeatedly chanted “Trans lives under attack, what do we do? Fight back!”
Video posted on social media by an attendee and Kirk showed demonstrators kicking in windows at the center’s northeast entrance in an attempt to disrupt the event.
“I don’t know if you saw, but they broke some windows, the terrorists did outside, people had things thrown at them,” Kirk later told the audience. “We’re not going to put up with force of trying to shut down people you don’t like ... and tonight is a statement to them that they’re the losers.”
Later, Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk replied to Kirk’s tweet of the video: “Not a peaceful protest at all.”
A group of protesters “broke 10 glass panes in the doors” to the center, but did not gain access to the building, campus officials said.
No arrests were made in connection to the breaking of the glass, according to the news release.
Kirk’s visit to UC Davis upset members of the campus community. Kirk has called George Floyd a “scumbag” and decried the participation of transgender athletes in NCAA college athletics.
In a video posted Tuesday on YouTube, UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May addressed what he called “distress” within the campus community over the Turning Point USA event organized by its students members.
May called Kirk “a well-documented proponent of misinformation and hate and who has advocated for violence against transgender individuals.”
The chancellor made it clear that UC Davis’ administration did not invite Kirk to speak on campus and had not sponsored the event. He said University of California policy dictates that registered student organizations, such as Turning Point USA, must be allowed to reserve campus facilities to host speakers of their choice, “even if the speaker’s intended speech is loathsome and hurtful to me and to others in our campus community.”
“As a campus that is committed to our principles of community,” May said, “UC Davis stands with our transgender and non-binary Aggies in opposition to the hateful and divisive messaging.”
“Please be assured that we are monitoring the event closely to determine if a threat or incitement develops that meets that threshold or violates other campus policies.”
The university said the person taken into custody who was confirmed as not being affiliated with UC Davis faces charges of misdemeanor vandalism and resisting arrest. The other person faces charges of vandalism, resisting arrest and making threats against a police officer.
Marco Perez, a Chicano studies and design student at UC Davis, heard on Monday night that Kirk would be visiting campus. On Tuesday, he designed some protest placards and handed them out to the demonstrators.
“Obviously, the students’ views do not align with those of Charlie Kirk,” Perez said. “I think that some of the ideas he presents are problematic, provocative and they go against the needs and the beliefs of the students here on campus.”
In October, a melee broke out between about 100 protesters and counterprotesters assembled ahead of a planned Turning Point USA event featuring right-wing podcast host Stephen Davis, nicknamed “MAGA Hulk.” Before Davis could begin speaking, violence erupted between contingents, who “fought among themselves, used pepper spray, knocked over barricades and removed traffic cones,” university officials said at the time.
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