Southern CA woman faces riot charge from protest of Turning Point USA at UC Davis
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chloe Love Peterson pleaded not guilty to criminal charges from a UC Davis campus protest.
- The protest last year was against an event for conservative group Turning Point USA.
- The protest drew national attention amid tensions over conservative speakers on campus.
A Southern California woman made her first appearance Friday in Yolo Superior Court two months after prosecutors charged her in connection with a protest last year at UC Davis that drew national attention amid growing tensions over campus visits by conservative speakers.
Chloe Love Peterson, 22, of Hemet, appeared Friday afternoon for her arraignment on a felony charge of conspiracy to commit a riot and a misdemeanor charge of battery in connection with a disruption at an April 3 Turning Point USA event featuring commentator Brandon Tatum.
The Riverside County resident was arrested and booked Wednesday at the Yolo County Jail. Peterson was released from the jail later in the day after posting a bail bond, jail records show.
Peterson, who was in court with her attorney Friday, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Judge Danette Brown scheduled Peterson to return to court Monday morning for further proceedings in her criminal case. The judge granted a defense request for Peterson to appear for her next court hearing via a video teleconferencing call from her home in Riverside County.
Peterson is the second person to be arraigned on charges stemming from last year’s UC Davis protest. Joanna Clara Sodke, 22, was arrested in mid-November after the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against her. She remains free on bail as she awaits prosecution.
Sodke was arraigned Nov. 14, and she pleaded not guilty to the same criminal charges as Peterson. Sodke’s case is still pending, and she’s scheduled to return to court on Monday.
UC Davis protest shared widely online
The April 3 confrontation at UC Davis unfolded before the event began and was widely circulated online within hours, drawing attention from high-profile conservatives including Elon Musk and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated five months later while speaking at a Turning Point event at Utah Valley University.
Turning Point USA is a conservative youth organization with chapters on college campuses nationwide that has faced protests at events in California and beyond. Critics say the group promotes extremist views; supporters argue they are exercising free speech rights increasingly under threat on liberal campuses.
Videos from the incident at the UC Davis quad showed a group of masked protesters pulling down a TPUSA tent and shoving event organizers. UC Davis officials later said one demonstrator struck a bystander who was filming with a cellphone. It was not immediately clear whether Sodke appeared in the videos, which quickly went viral on social media.
The UC Davis incident in April gained traction online when Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns: “The left is the party of violence & hate,” in response to footage of the scuffle. His post amassed over 10 million views within hours.
No arrests were made in April, and campus police said the investigation remained ongoing. In a statement released after the incident, UC Davis officials affirmed the right to protest but condemned any acts of violence, noting it would review safety protocols. The campus event continued after the scuffle and ended without further incident.
Complaint describes protest signs, punch thrown
The District Attorney’s Office formally charged Sodke with a criminal complaint filed seven months after the campus protest took place. Peterson was formally charged four days after Sodke.
The Yolo County cases against Sodke and Peterson are the first to result in criminal charges related to the April UC Davis confrontation.
The DA’s complaint alleges that Sodke and Peterson, along with unknown co-conspirators, posted signs on campus with the time and location of the Turning Point campus event, along with slogans such as “BLOCK THE FASH”, “BLOCK THE TRASH” and “MASK UP, COME TOGETHER & BLOCK THE FASH TRASH.” The term “fash” is an abbreviated version of fascist.
The co-conspirators allegedly posted on Instagram encouraging people to come to the campus event, protect their identities with masks and bring an umbrella.
Prosecutors allege that Sodke and Peterson were among a group of people who confronted Turning Point USA representatives outside the event, and Sodke punched someone identified in the complaint as “B.B.” as unidentified co-conspirators took and destroyed items from event representatives.
Sodke graduated from UC Davis in June 2024 with a degree in history, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting. In a video captured by a Bee journalist, Sodke was seen boisterously entering the stage at Golden 1 Center to receiver her diploma from Chancellor Gary May while cheering on her fellow undergraduates that day.
The DA’s Office announced the charges against Sodke in November, days after another high-profile Turning Point USA event — this time at UC Berkeley — reignited debates over free speech and campus safety. The Berkeley event marked the final stop of the “This is the Turning Point” tour, which continued after Kirk’s assassination with guest hosts. Comedian Rob Schneider headlined the Berkeley stop.
