Violent clash at UC Davis between protest groups cancels conservative speaker event
A melee broke out Tuesday evening at UC Davis between about 100 protesters and counterprotesters assembled ahead of a planned event by a conservative student organization, according to university officials.
Allegedly among the counterprotesters were some wearing apparel linking them with the far-right Proud Boys, the university said in a statement. Photos circulating on social media showed some wearing black-and-yellow hooded sweatshirts and hats assembled on the campus shortly after sunset.
The planned event featuring podcast host Stephen Davis, nicknamed “MAGA Hulk,” had been planned for 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The UC Davis chapter of Turning Point USA, a nationwide nonprofit that advocates for conservatism on higher education campuses, had planned a university-approved event featuring Davis as its speaker.
Before Davis could begin speaking, violence erupted between the protester and counterprotester contingents, who “fought among themselves, used pepper spray, knocked over barricades and removed traffic cones,” university officials wrote.
“Some in the crowd used barricades to beat on the glass of the UC Davis Conference Center, where about 30 people were inside waiting for the event to begin,” the university’s statement continued.
UC Davis said campus police were not deployed, that civilian security personnel were inside and outside the conference center, and that no university staff used pepper spray at any time. It was not immediately clear why police were not dispatched.
Turning Point USA at UC Davis organizers agreed to cancel the event out of concerns for safety. UC Davis Student Affairs staff then evacuated students and Davis from the building.
“It is unfortunate that the event could not proceed as planned,” university officials wrote. “As a public institution, UC Davis values and supports freedom of expression as rights guaranteed to every citizen.” The statement condemned violence and “calls for harm to others.”
Turning Point USA and its co-founder, Charlie Kirk, acknowledged the incident in a Twitter thread Wednesday morning.
“Rather than risk any further escalation of violence, our TPUSA chapter leadership decided to cancel the event when it became apparent campus PD was unable to disperse the violent agitators outside while also keeping our students safe inside,” the nonprofit’s main Twitter account, which has more than 500,000 followers, posted in part.
Kirk and Turning Point in separate tweets blamed the violence on “Antifa agitators.” Neither statement made reference to the Proud Boys’ alleged involvement.
The Proud Boys have been labeled a far-right extremist group by organizations including the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League, and are known for espousing white supremacist ideologies.
According to posters by Turning Point USA, Davis was going to speak on “systemic racism and the lies that surround the topic.”
This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 8:13 AM.
