Campus police arrested a man suspected of attacking a conservative activist last month at the University of California, Berkeley, the school announced Friday afternoon.
University of California police officers booked Zachary Greenberg into jail in the wake of an attack on a member of Turning Point USA, an activist group that supports President Trump. The incident took place on Feb. 19, and the footage, taken by the victim and bystanders, went viral.
“UCPD will formally present the case to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of the filing of criminal charges,” the UC-Berkeley Public Affairs team announced in a campus publication. “Once the matter is presented and reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office, additional information will be made available regarding a charging decision.
Bail for the 28-year-old Greenberg has been set at $30,000, according to local media.
Hayden Williams, a TPUSA activist, was punched while manning a booth adorned by pro-Trump signs and placards critical of Empire actor Jussie Smollett, who is accused of staging a hoax hate crime against himself. Williams began to record the encounter as his critics gathered — “I’m just going to video it for my own safety, because you seem really erratic,” he told one person who accused him of “encouraging violence” — but that angered the pair. He was attacked moments later.
“Let there be no mistake, we strongly condemn violence and harassment of any sort, for any reason,” Carol Christ, the university chancellor, said in response to the incident. “That sort of behavior is intolerable and has no place here. Our commitment to freedom of expression and belief is unwavering.”
Williams is a Leadership Institute staffer who was on campus to help TPUSA recruit new student members. Greenberg is not a student.
“The fact that the victim was not a campus affiliate has no bearing on this case,” campus representative Dan Mogulof said while the search for the attacker was under way. “He had every right to be on campus, and every right to express his point of view.”
“There’s a certain culture there that is especially hostile on Berkeley’s campus and across the country to conservative students,” Williams said in an interview with Fox Business Network. “[T]hey’re willing to use violence if they think that you’re being too controversial.”
