Police have released mugshots for five out of the nine people arrested during protests of a Ben Shapiro speech.
Cops in Berkeley, California said that nine people had been arrested during the Thursday protests against the conservative commentator, but said there were no injuries due to violence or property damage.
The University of California relied on a phalanx of police and a virtual campus lockdown in order to allow the talk by former Breitbart editor Shapiro, 33, to proceed.
Hundreds of protesters were allowed to voice their displeasure over the speech at the famously liberal school, chanting ‘no Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA’ outside the hall where he spoke. Others held signs objecting to the university hosting Shapiro.
The cost of the free speech was estimated at as much as $600,000 for security, according to UC officials.
Arrested: Michael Paul Sullivan, 29, and Hannah Benjamin, 20, were charged with carrying a banned weapon. Benjamin was additionally charged with battery on a police officer
‘For the most part it was an orderly event, attended by respectful orderly people,’ UC Police Chief Margo Bennett said. ‘The crowd in the street was loud, but not violent.’
Police set up a zone around the campus and temporarily banned a wide variety of items, including poles, shields and pepper spray, in a bid to prevent the type of mob violence that has greeted other conservative speakers there in recent months.
Arrested on charges of carrying a banned weapon were: Sarah Roark, 44, of San Francisco, Michael Paul Sullivan, 29, of Hayward and Eddy Robinson, 44, of Oakland.
Hannah Benjamin, 20, of Fremont, was also arrested for carrying a banned weapon and additionally charged with battery on a police officer. Kerem Celik, 18, of Saratoga, was arrested for disturbing the peace.
Arrested on battery charges but not yet seen in mugshots were Jorge Cabanillas, 20, of Rialto, and Darin Bauer, 45, of Berkeley. Miguel Reyes, 21, of Colton was charged with resisting arrest and Noe Gonzalez Gudino, 24, of Richmond was charged with public intoxication.
The 33-year-old former Breitbart News editor thanked the crowd once he began his speech
The University of California relied on a phalanx of police and a virtual campus lockdown in order to allow the talk by the former Breitbart editor to proceed
Justin Palmer, 31, a UC Berkeley undergraduate student in philosophy, said he opposes Shapiro’s beliefs but still wanted to hear his ideas. He said Shapiro had a right to speak on campus.
‘It’s unfortunate that it has to turn into this big spectacle,’ he said, referring to the protests and police.
Xochitl Johnson, an organizer with Refuse Fascism, a group protesting Shapiro’s speech, attacked the university for deploying police for what she said was the creation of a safe space for fascists. She said it was wrong for the school to shut down the campus to let him speak.
UC spokesman Dan Mogulof said the university was committed to continuing to host speakers like Shapiro. Still, he said the university faced complicated legal issues and an ‘unusual context’ on campus and in the country and would proceed cautiously.
He noted that Shapiro spoke at UC Berkeley in 2016 without any disruptions to the campus or heavy security.
‘Who would have known in February 2016 that we would have needed to do what we needed tonight in order to have a successful event with the very same speaker,’ he said.
Police officers surround a fallen supporter of Shapiro after she was knocked to the ground during a scuffle with protesters following his speech
The city and campus have become a flashpoint this year for the country’s political divisions, drawing extremist groups from the left and right.
Police and UC Berkeley officials were criticized in February for giving demonstrators wide latitude and standing aside as masked anarchists hurled Molotov cocktails at officers and caused $100,000 worth of damage when right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak. The event was canceled, as was a later speech planned by conservative Ann Coulter.
Thursday’s event was being seen as a test run for later in the month, when Yiannopoulos plans to return for what he is calling a ‘Free Speech Week’ on campus featuring conservative commentator Ann Coulter and Steve Bannon, ex-chief strategist for President Donald Trump who has returned to Breitbart News. Campus officials say that event is not yet confirmed.
Security was ratcheted up Thursday in Berkeley after four political demonstrations there have turned violent since February, prompting officers to come up with new strategies to control rowdy and sometimes dangerous crowds.
Berkeley Police stand guard in front of a student store on the University of Berkeley California’s campus as conservative speaker Ben Shapiro speaks in the Zellerbach Hall
Streets were closed and concrete barriers were erected. A list of banned items Thursday included shields, masks, bandanas, poles and torches, and for the first time in two decades, the city council authorized city officers to use pepper spray to control violence.
Shapiro was invited to speak by campus Republicans, who say the liberal university stifles the voice of conservative speakers. About 90 minutes of his two-hour talk was devoted to a question-and-answer session, and he prioritized hearing from those with differing views.
He denounced white supremacy and urged people to sit and down and talk to people who have different political views rather than yelling at those who are not like them.
‘Get to know people, get to know their views. Discuss, debate,’ Shapiro said. ‘That is what America is all about.’
A protest sign is tacked to a pole before a speaking engagement by Ben Shapiro on the campus of the University of California Berkeley on Thursday