A leftist group on law enforcementâs radar for decades incited a chaotic Monday protest against Turning Point USA at the University of California, Berkeley, that is now under FBI scrutiny.
By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) posted a call to action on socialmedia that encouraged people to demonstrate against TPUSAâs Berkeley event before crowds arrived, scuffles ensued and arrests were made. BAMN, whose allies have repeatedly been arrested at demonstrations or investigated by the FBI, postedfootagepromoting the screamingmobs at Mondayâs protest.
Several protesters were arrested, including one who allegedly tried to steal a President Donald Trump supporterâs chain from around his neck and beat him bloody, Fox News reported. Some arresteesâ names have not yet been publicized.
BAMN, UC Berkeley and the FBI did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundationâs requests for comment. The FBIâs Joint Terrorism Task Force is looking into the rioting at Berkeley, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X Tuesday.
The violent backlash came two months after TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk was gunned down at Utah Valley University (UVU) while debating college students.
âAll Charlie Kirk and Turning Point stand for is organizing racist, bigoted violence to intimidate and bully US into silence, and we refuse to be silent,â BAMN National Organizer Hoku Jeffrey said in a speech to fellow Berkeley protesters, BAMNâs footage shows. âToday, we have to make sure that weâre loud and weâre proud and that all the Turning Point people that come ⌠know that this is not a campus that they are welcome at.â
TPUSA commentator Jack Posobiec declared on X Monday night that BAMN âmust be rolled up by law enforcementâ in response to the Berkeley protest.
On The Radar
BAMN claims to be against violence, but its members are often in trouble with the law.
The FBI mentioned BAMN in a 2002 internal document detailing Michigan groups âthought to be involved in terrorist activitiesâ based on its involvement in an Ann Arbor protest. BAMN activists were arrested for alleged violence at protests against Ku Klux Klan leaders in the 1990s in Michigan and California, local newspapersreported.
âMichigan State Police has information that in the past demonstrations by this group have been peaceful,â the FBI document says.
BAMN activist Yvette Felarca was arrested in a violent 2016 melee with neo-Nazis at Californiaâs state capitol building and later convicted of unlawful assembly in exchange for other charges being dismissed, The Associated Press reported. Felarca was filmed punching an opposing protester during the scuffle, CBS News reported.
BAMN described Felarca as a âNational Organizerâ as of July 2024.
Reports show other arrests of BAMN-affiliated protesters in Michigan and California since 2016. Five were acquitted of assault charges in a high-profile 2018 case after prosecutors said they beat a Trump supporter at a right-wing rally.
The FBI also associated BAMN with âAnarchist Extremismâ in a 2017 investigation document, which did not lead to charges.
DOJ officials suggested in X posts that BAMNâs Monday protest is tied to the violent left-wing âAntifaâ movement, which the Trump administration recently labeled a domestic terrorist organization.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said on X Tuesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would investigate Mondayâs anti-TPUSA demonstration over whether the conservative activistsâ rights were violated. âIn America, we do not allow citizens to be attacked by violent thugs and shrug and turn our backs,â she said. âBeen there, done that, not on our watch.â
âUnder President Trumpâs leadership, and pursuant to his Executive Order designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, the Department of Justice and our law-enforcement partners are dismantling violent networks that seek to intimidate Americans and suppress their free expression and First Amendment rights,â Bondi said.
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