In response to the violent protests at Berkeley on Wednesday, President Trump tweeted out his disgust at the rioting students of U.C. Berkeley. Trump claimed he might be forced to cut or lower the university’s federal funding if they continue to limit free speech on their campus.
If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view – NO FEDERAL FUNDS?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017
Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak at Berkeley Wednesday night, and was evacuated from campus by his security team after violence broke out during protests throughout the city of Berkeley and the U.C. campus. Masked protesters were throwing fireworks, rocks, and Molotov cocktails, breaking the windows of local businesses and campus buildings, destroying ATMs, and vandalizing private property with anti-Trump graffiti. There was an estimated $100,000 in property damage.
Pictures and live streams of the event show footage of rioters in dark clothing and masks attempting to breach the building Yiannopoulos was planning to speak in, with further images and videos of rioters attacking conservatives and Trump supporters with pipes and shovels, as the local police looked on from a distance, with rumors saying officers were ordered to not intervene or arrest any protesters.
Trump later tweeted about the incident again, claiming that the anarchists and thugs were just proving his point.
Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017
Ironically, Berkeley was one of the birthplaces of the Free Speech Movement during the 1960s.
