A group of conservative students were assaulted and had their equipment destroyed on Thursday when masked protesters attacked them before an event on a California university campus.
Turning Point USA at UC Davis, a registered student organization, was hosting a “Prove me Wrong” event with Brandon Tatum, a guest speaker, when protesters destroyed camera gear, a tent, event signage, flipped tables, and assaulted group staff, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, wrote on X.
“While our people were under attack, police stood aside and did nothing,” he wrote. “Our team is understandably shaken up, but they assure me they will not back down.”
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, the university said protesters disrupted the event at Memorial Union Quad by confronting members of the student organization and others.
“The UC Davis Police Department took one report of an assault,” the school said. “No one requested medical aid. The event with the guest speaker took place on schedule and was completed without further incident. The university protected the free speech rights of the campus community throughout the event.”
The student group invited Tatum, a former police officer known for his popular YouTube Channel, to speak on the campus at 1 p.m. An hour before the event began, about 30 people approached the tent and table staffed by supporters of the event.
One demonstrator struck someone who approached the table with a cell phone, the school said. Other demonstrators pulled down the tent and engaged in shoving with those staffing the tent and others nearby. The protesters left the area before returning minutes later and trying to remove a tent.
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No one has been arrested.
Videos of the chaos posted online show protesters holding a large banner with “ACAB,” an acronym for “All Cops Are Bastards,” as they approached the event area.
Kirk criticized the university, which he called the “most militant school in the country, with the largest Antifa presence.”
“When I spoke there in March of 2023, Antifa foot soldiers vandalized the school, smashed windows and fought the police,” he said. “What we have is a pattern, with no signs of improvement.”
Reacting to the news of the incident, Elon Musk wrote on X that “the left is the party of violence & hate.”
A video posted by Tatum online shows him defending himself as the protesters appeared to destroy a TPUSA tent and tables.
“This is what mostly peaceful looks like,” he wrote.
Kirk called for the arrest of those involved and that failing to do so will result in “radical anarchists” resorting to “more and more violence if they think doing so will stop conservatives from speaking.”
He urged UC Davis to show its willingness to protect free speech and freedom of assembly on a public campus.
“If they won’t, then the Trump Administration should investigate their continued receipt of federal taxpayer dollars,” he said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Turning Point USA.
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