Liberal Terrorist Cartoons

Conservative students at UC Berkeley face everything from insults to threats of violence

Walking across Sproul Plaza on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, it is hard to discern Jonathan Chow from any other student at the school.

In his UC Berkeley water polo shirt, cargo shorts and sneakers, the 21-year-old history major seems like any other undergrad rushing to class or sipping coffee in the plaza.

But Chow is not like most of his fellow students. He’s part of a small minority of seemingly marginalized students at one of the largest universities in the U.S. He’s a conservative.
“I came here to conduct my own social experiment,” Chow told Fox News. “The idea was to see if there was any way of convincing people or having a dialogue with really radical people. It has not been as successful as I wanted it to be.”

More on this...

While UC Berkeley does not keep statistics on its students’ political leanings, the school has long been known as one of the country’s centers for liberal and progressive thought, and now – following a slew of high-profile, violent protests against conservative speakers on campus – Chow and other like-minded students say that life has become more difficult for anyone whose politics lean toward the right.
“It’s certainly not easy,” Steven Hayward, a conservative commentator and resident scholar at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, told Fox News. “There are not many conservative students -- and those that are conservative are, many times, afraid to speak for fear of being mocked or trolled by their fellow students.”
Chow and other conservatives on campus say that while harassment by fellow students isn’t new – they’ve been yelled at, sent hate mail, had their signs stolen when tabling and even spat upon – the animosity aimed in their direction has ratcheted up over the last year.
In February, 150 leftist black-clad protesters rampaged through Berkeley’s campus, where they caused $100,000 worth of damage, beat students and forced the University of California to cancel a planned speech by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.

Protestors against a scheduled speaking appearance by polarizing Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos march on the University of California at Berkeley campus Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif. The event was canceled out of safety concerns after protesters hurled smoke bombs, broke windows and started a bonfire. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)  (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

“There were over 100 Antifa members on campus causing trouble,” Rudraveer Reddy, a conservative sophomore at UC Berkeley and a member of the Berkeley College Republicans (BCRS) and the Berkeley Patriot website, told Fox News. “My friend was there and he was beaten by Antifa and the police did nothing.”
Since then, violence by Antifa, a far-left group whose name means “anti-fascist,” has continued on Berkeley’s campus and throughout the college town, with controversial conservative writer Ann Coulter canceling a speech at the school in April after the Young America’s Foundation pulled its support for the event amid threats of violence.
In August, a group of around 100 hooded members of Antifa stormed what had been a largely peaceful rally for free speech in the town of Berkeley and attacked at least five people, including the leader of a politically conservative group that had canceled an event a day earlier in San Francisco to avoid potential violence.
Along with actual acts of violence, Berkeley’s contingent of conservative students have also had to deal with less direct threats.
Graffiti has appeared in restrooms and on school signs that read “Kill the BCRS” and “Behead the BCRS,” while the Berkeley Antifa Twitter account tweeted out the names of some BCR members and alleged that the members were meeting at a local bar with Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson and right-wing activist Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman. BCR members and students in the conservative Young America’s Foundation have said Antifa members have stalked them while they hung posters around campus.
“Conservatives in Berkeley are routinely targeted, harassed, and stalked,” BCR External Vice President Naweed Tahmas said in an email to the Daily Californian, the campus newspaper. “It has become socially acceptable in Berkeley to physically beat someone for being a conservative.”
Officials at UC Berkeley have vehemently denied that they condone any threats or violence directed at conservatives and said they have diligently worked to protect their students while also protecting free speech.
“We’re not going to play games when it comes to the safety of our guests and the members of the campus community,” Dan Mogulof, a UC Berkeley spokesman, told Fox News.

Conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos holds protest signs while speaking at the University of California in Berkeley, California, U.S., September 24, 2017. REUTERS/Noah Berger - RC1F9EBC0040

The university last month shelled out $600,000 in security for an on-campus appearance from conservative pundit and former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro. Further, it is estimated that UC Berkeley spent close to $1 million on security ahead of the planned “Free Speech Week” hosted by the conservative Berkeley Patriot group and Yiannopoulos.
While administration members said they are doing all they can to protect and defend free speech, the Berkeley College Republicans targeted by Antifa don’t feel the same way.
“The university’s response has been pathetic, at best,” Matt Ronnau, a BCR member, told Fox News.
“Free Speech Week” was canceled at the last minute amid a dearth of speakers and problems with the organizers, but the event galvanized both conservatives in Berkeley and those opposed to them.
It also highlighted a divide among the school’s conservatives that some blame for the ramping up in the harassment aimed at the group.
Chow, who has been a member of BCR for two years, said the organization’s new leadership is taking the group in a different direction – now it focuses on bringing in provocative speakers with far-right views and creating pet projects like the Berkeley Patriot. He said the group now seems more interested in sparking controversy than making positive changes.

Milo Yiannopoulos speech at Cal State Fullerton: Seven arrested

Milo Yiannopoulos addresses the media during a news conference in New York City, Feb. 21, 2017.  (Reuters)

At least seven people were arrested Tuesday after violence broke out between protesters and counter-protesters attending an event by provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos at California State University, Fullerton.

The speech – attracting 800 attendees – drew multiple protesters who chanted slogans such as “Black lives matter!” and “Cops and the Klan go hand in hand!” Some had signs reading, “Immigrants in, racists out,” and “Only socialist revolution can defeat capitalist reaction.”

Claudia Brick, a 66-year-old woman protesting Yiannopoulos, said she hoped to get her message across.
“We believe in their right to free speech as well, but we believe we can get our message across louder, and there are certainly more of us," she said.
At least two people were arrested for scuffles, according to university spokesman Jeff Cook. It remained unclear why other people were arrested.
The police took extra precautions to ensure safety at the event. Additional police officers were brought from other agencies and helicopters hovered around the area, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Some police officers were seen wearing riot gear, others were on horseback, and several officers were on the event venue’s rooftop.
Most protesters remained peaceful but the demonstration got heated after a woman punched a female Yiannopoulos supporter several times before someone restrained her with pepper spray.
The attacked woman, Genevieve Peters, said a female protester carrying a baby attacked her after she told the woman she needed to be careful with the toddler at the protest.
"She came and just punched me in the side of the head, and came running after me, and my friends had to get her off," said Peters, describing herself as a “proud” supporter of President Donald Trump. "She tried to punch me three or four times. I feel sorry for her because she has so much anger."
The attacker quickly disappeared from the scene, but it remained unclear whether she was among the two arrested for violence.
Another woman, wearing a black helmet and a mask, was arrested after shooting pepper spray into the air. She was heard agitating demonstrators to storm the Yiannopoulos event and beat him up, the L.A. Times reported.
Most violence was recorded prior the event, with only small arguments erupting in the aftermath. The event was the speaker's first big appearance on a U.S. college campus after the highly anticipated “Free Speech Week” at UC Berkeley fell apart amid disorganization.
Yiannopoulos' event at Fullerton was organized by the College Republicans, who invited the speaker as a way to draw attention to the existence of conservative students at the college and the need for free speech.
"We really just felt left out of the conversations on campus as conservatives, and bringing him has really started this conversation about free speech," said Brooke Paz, a spokeswoman for the group.

Paul Manafort considered flight risk because of wealth, foreign connections: special counsel

Just one day after pleading not guilty to a 12-count indictment, Paul Manafort was described as a major flight risk by prosecutors because of his wealth and international connections.

According to court documents unsealed Tuesday, prosecutors say they believe Manafort -- a former chairman of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign -- and his business associate Richard Gates were at risk of fleeing.

“The defendants pose a risk of flight based on the serious nature of the charges, their history of deceptive and misleading conduct, the potentially significant sentences the defendants face, the strong evidence of guilt, their significant financial resources, and their foreign connections,” the court documents read.
Manafort is known to have a significant amount of wealth. Between 2012 and 2016, he listed his assets to be between $19 million and $136 million, the New York Daily News reported.
“His financial holdings are substantial, if difficult to quantify precisely,” Tuesday’s documents revealed.
The 68-year-old was also being considered a flight risk because of his foreign connections. The Washington Post reported that Manafort keeps three U.S. passports and has submitted 10 passport applications in recent years.
Prosecutors note in the documents that Manafort also has wealthy ties to Moscow and to Kiev, Ukraine, through his previous business dealings. His travel schedule in the last year reveals the many connections Manafort has overseas, increasing the possibility of flight, prosecutors said.
The court documents even brought up Manafort’s age, stating he might be more inclined to flee with a guilty verdict carrying a sentence of around 12 to 15 years.
Manafort pleaded not guilty Monday after being indicted on 12 counts by a federal grand jury as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign officials in the 2016 presidential election.
The special counsel’s office told Fox News that the counts include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading Foreign Agent Registration (FARA) statements, false statements and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign banks and financial accounts.
Manafort’s bail was set at $10 million. He will return to court Thursday to hear the terms of his bail.

Mark Levin: Trump Is Trying to Protect America With 'Extreme Vetting' Policy

Mark Levin joined Sean Hannity tonight to react to the terror attack in New York City and new revelations about the suspect, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov.
Levin pointed out that Saipov, who is from Uzbekistan, reportedly came to the U.S. in 2010 when he was 22 years old under the "Diversity Immigrant Visa Program."
Levin explained that the program makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas annually and aims to diversify the immigrant population in the U.S.
"It's a lottery system. That's no way to run an immigration system," Levin said. "The purpose of immigration is to improve the United States, is to benefit the United States, not to ensure diversity."
He said President Donald Trump is right to call for extreme vetting of immigrants from countries that are known hotbeds of radical Islamic ideology.
"Donald Trump is following the Constitution, following the statute, trying to protect America," Levin said. "What the president is saying is, 'You can't bring people in from these countries until we figure out what's going on.'"
He warned that the federal judges who have tried to block Trump's executive orders on immigration are endangering American citizens. He noted that one judge even spoke about due process rights for immigrants before they enter the U.S.
"This is progressivism gone nuts. And it's going to kill a lot more people. And you would have thought after 9/11 that people would take this issue of immigration seriously."