Police arrest five, carry out arbitrary searches at UC Berkeley
By
David Brown
29 April 2017
Hundreds of police officers cordoned off Sproul Plaza, the main thoroughfare at the University of California Berkeley (UCB), Thursday afternoon, claiming the move was necessary to prevent violence between pro- and anti-Trump protesters in the wake of a canceled speech by right-wing media figure Ann Coulter. The officers were prepared for mass arrests, though no significant protest materialized on either side.
Coulter had been invited to speak by a student club, the Berkeley College Republicans, but the university administration insisted the speech be rescheduled due to security concerns. Instead, Coulter canceled the meeting on Wednesday.
About 150 pro-Trump protesters demonstrated a few blocks from the campus. Among them were several small alt-right groups hoping to provoke a street fight with anarchists, as they had at protests on February 1 and March 4.
The UCB Police Department (UCPD) issued an alert at 12:50 p.m. warning students that there would be a large police presence “actively looking to arrest people committing violence or other crimes.” An hour later, when around a dozen anti-Trump protesters gathered outside Sproul, the UCPD announced it had designated Sproul Plaza an “event area” with restricted access.
Police posted a list of banned items, including weapons, frozen fruit, water bottles, balloons, tobacco products and explosives. Most significantly, stuck in the middle of the list, was a ban on banners and signs.
Police announced that they arrested five people, including two for suspicion of resisting arrest and one teenager for suspicion of possessing a controlled substance. Video footage shows police arresting…