Posted on 12/12/2009 1:39:33 PM PST by reaganaut1
BERKELEY, Calif. – Eight people were under arrest Saturday after protesters broke windows, lights and planters outside the home of the chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley.
University spokesman Dan Mogulof said 40 to 70 protesters also threw incendiary devices at police cars and the home of Chancellor Robert Birgeneau about 11 p.m. Friday. There were no fires or injuries.
The protest at the chancellor's home came late the same day that police arrested 66 protesters at a campus classroom building that was partially taken over for four days.
The protesters are demonstrating against state funding cuts that have led to course cutbacks, faculty furloughs and sharp fee increases.
"The attack at our home was extraordinarily frightening and violent. My wife and I genuinely feared for our lives," Birgeneau said in a statement issued through the university.
The eight were arrested on suspicion of rioting, threatening an education official, attempted burglary, attempted arson of an occupied building, felony vandalism, and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.
They include two Berkeley students and one from the University of California, Davis, Mogulof said. Of the remaining five, four had San Francisco Bay-area addresses, while one is from Brooklyn, N.Y. Their ages ranged from 20-41. At least three are women.
"This is what it looks like when a student group gets hijacked by an extreme and violent element in its ranks," Mogulof said.
An Associated Press freelance photographer saw at least four broken decorative light globes, overturned vases and plants, and shattered terra cotta planters. At least two windows were broken, one boarded over, the other shattered in a spider web pattern. Birgeneau was in his living room, but did not speak to reporters.
The protesters shouted "no justice, no peace" as they attacked the home, Mogulof said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
One in the same. Leftists all.
Should threats toward a set of persons be punished more harshly because that set of persons is more likely to be threatened?
That question could be applied to this, but also to laws against threatening/murdering judges, or cops, or the President of the United States.
From an equal-justice perspective, it seems that all people should have the same protection. But that is not the way our laws are oriented.
The laws seem to express a different principal: that people with legitimate roles in our society should be able to perform those roles without threat, and that those especially susceptible to threat should be protected by additional levels of deterrence.
I believe in equal protection under the law. But the people who pass these laws aren’t operating under abstract notions or justice; they are responding to a judge murdered by a mobster or a cop gunned down in the street.
That could be interpreted as a threat.
Sounds more like solicitation to me.
Cheers!
Also, it’s funny you should pose the question in the way that you did..
I’d be willing to bet that this law was created in response to a specific incident, probably having to do with some spoiled “snobby” kid threatening (or worse) a teacher or professor who ruined his chances at Harvard.
The tragedy being that if you start treating them like they are move valuable than you, pretty soon they start to think they are better than you.
And acting accordingly.
I agree with you.
The thing about Kent State?
The people who were shot weren’t in the front line with the useful idiots.
They were in the back with the CPUSA organizers.
Berkeley has become a joke and is held in low esteem among academia. Losers.
“Bill Ayres teaching students that violence against an unjust government is perfectly okay.”
Uh, I think some guys back in the late 18th century said that to.
It’s a matter of what is unjust and how much MORE violent Ayers and his like are, as they view violence as transformative if done in the service of communism.
UPDATE from student newspaper:
....................................................
Eight people have been arrested, including two UC Berkeley students and two UC Davis students, and remain in police custody following an attack on Chancellor Robert Birgeneau’s house late Friday night.
Between 40 and 75 people marched to Birgeneau’s home near the northwest corner of campus at about 11 p.m. Friday night. Some wielded torches that were allegedly thrown at police, while others broke the outside lighting to the house, overturned planters, damaged “impact resistant” windows on the house and scattered garbage brought from a nearby student housing cooperative, police said.
The group dispersed after UCPD officers arrived on the scene following a call from Birgeneau at 11:14 p.m., according to a UCPD statement on the incident.
Zachary Bowin, 21, and Angela Miller, 20, both UC Berkeley students were arrested as well as James Carwil, 34; Laura Thatcher, 21, a UC Davis student; David Morse, 41; Donnell Allen, 41; John Friesen, 25-who had previously been arrested Friday at Wheeler Hall-and Julia Litmancleper, 20. It was unclear who the fourth UC student was, though campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said two of those arrested were UC Davis students.
All are charged with rioting, threatening an education official, attempted burglary, attempted arson of an occupied building, felony vandalism and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. The eight were all issued exclusion orders which bar them from returning to campus, police said.
Mogulof said the attack was a disturbing development in a student-led movement against the campus and university administrations’ handling of record budget shortfalls.
“This is what it looks like when a student group gets hijacked by extreme and violent elements in its ranks,” he said. “There is no place in our community for such extremism. They now need to decide which path they will take going forward. ... If they elect to continue on this path of violence and extremism, we will spare no effort to identify and remove them from our community.”
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement Saturday that the attack was an act of terrorism.
“California will not tolerate any type of terrorism against any leaders including educators. The attack on Chancellor Birgeneau’s home is a criminal act and those who participated will be prosecuted under the fullest extent of the law. Debate is the foundation of democracy and I encourage protestors to find peaceful and productive ways to express their opinions,” he said in the statement.
UC Berkeley students involved in the student movement, which opposes a recent 32 percent increase in student fees as well as an alleged privatization of the university, said the attack was not representative of their cause.
“What happened last night doesn’t reflect on our students (as a whole),” said Ricardo Gomez, founder of Berkeley Students Against the Cuts and a UC Berkeley student. “As far as I understand it, six out of the eight people arrested weren’t students. ... These types of violent interactions cause students on our campus to be less engaged with what’s going on.”
Students involved with the “Open University” and other student actions have said they are “completely disappointed” by the “impulsive action” made by a small number of people.
“I know that was not a collective decision of the mass of students who were organizing,” said Elias Martinez, a UC Berkeley student who helped organize the “Open University” protest. “I know that this was not solidarity.”
Students and organizers will meet today to form a response to Friday night’s action, he said.
The attack followed the arrests of 66 students staging the “Open University” in Wheeler Hall. Campus officials said the arrests were made in order to ensure that a music concert planned for the evening would not interfere with final exams scheduled to take place in the building on Saturday. Several dozen people congregated outside Wheeler Hall at about 8 p.m. Friday evening to protest the arrests.
According to a UCPD report on the incident, those involved in the attack were part of the group that had met in front of Wheeler Hall and then moved north along the west side of the building. Birgeneau was informed that the group was heading in the direction of his residence, University House, at 8:42 p.m., but the group instead continued on to Hearst Avenue on the north side of campus, according to the report.
At 8:53 p.m., the group arrived at the Casa Zimbabwe co-op on Ridge Road where the concert was relocated. Shortly after 11 p.m. “a large, loud group” described by callers as “rioters” moved to campus, knocking over garbage cans and newspaper machines on Euclid Street, arriving at University House shortly thereafter.
Casa Zimbabwe representatives did not respond to requests for comment as of 3:59 p.m. Saturday.
Berkeley Student Cooperative President Palmer Buchholz said in an e-mail that the attack was not in any way sanctioned by Casa Zimbabwe or the Berkeley Student Cooperative and that cooperative officials are unaware of how the group of attackers was formed.
“A concert did take place at CZ last night, but it was shut down by 11:00 in time for quiet hours, and all guests left the property,” she said in the e-mail. “CZ’s house management reports that no organization for the events of the night took place at CZ, and the BSC in no way condones the actions taken by the attackers. CZ’s house management reports that the guests were well-behaved and gave no indication of any post-concert plans they may have had. I have no knowledge of how the group of attackers was formed ... Additionally, none of the students involved or arrested are residents of CZ.”
Police who had responded to an unrelated disturbance call on nearby Euclid Street arrived soon after the group began its attack. Some members of the crowd threw lit torches at officers arriving from the southern end of the home, at which point the crowd dispersed and several were arrested, UCPD Lt. Adan Tejada said at about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.
Several dozen people ran through a parking lot between Giannini Hall and Tolman Hall, wearing hoods and throwing gloves aside, according to Jared Friedman, a research assistant at the the Sleep and Psychological Disorders Lab on campus, who was walking back from Moffitt Library when he saw the crowd.
“I just heard a bunch of chanting through a megaphone,” Friedman said. “It was a big crowd running with hoods on just yelling, I couldn’t make anything out.”
Birgeneau and his wife were in the house at the time, but were moved to a confidential location in order to ensure his safety, Tejada said Saturday morning.
Tejada said at about 2 a.m. Saturday morning that the students who received exclusion orders will need to meet with campus officials before being allowed to return to campus for final exams.
“The only way they can get back on to campus is through a hearing with (UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Harry Le Grande),” he said.
http://www.dailycal.org/article/107793/eight_arrested_after_attack_on_chancellor_s_house
You’re not understanding me. I’m talking about the one sentence that I quoted. On its own, it’s something that one could see as a moral condemnation of the Founding Fathers or the principle of just revolt against an oppressive government.
I kinda know what you mean, but it just needed re-phrasing.
This is the problem with Obama and Co. bringing us to the brink. Nobody is safe. Not even this nice LEFTIE family. Read A Tale of Two Cities... when the revolution begins, EVERYONE is in danger...
I hate to spoil the illusion, Herr Mogulof, but conservatives tend to not do this sort of thing. You will face the results of your leftist indoctrination. The crowd will turn on the Leftist establishment because they don't understand the difference... They are trained and motivated by the LEFT! In the end, boy, y'all gittin the brunt of what y'all created...
Are these the protesters Pelosi spoke of the day she shed tears?
Joseph Agredano, 20, who says his education is paid for by financial aid, said he was protesting because he believes “education is a right. Higher education should be accessible to any person.”
Yup.
I’m kind of offended by your attempt at a comparison, even as tiny as it is.
I’m sure Bill Ayres would agree with you, but not stating the difference is supposed to be a part of Ayres job.
The founders protested big government and high taxes. They found those things unjust.
The thugs at Berkley want a hand out. They think they should get everything for free. They want higher taxes and bigger government to pay for it.
The founders had relatively peaceful protests. No one was murdered in the Boston Tea Party.
The thugs at Berkley are openly stating they want people injured.
When the founders did take up arms, they tended to attack targets that were also armed.
The thugs at Berkley are targeting the defenseless.
The leaders of the founders weren’t members and representatives of the British crown. And the founders did not support Tories in a lot of elections.
The thugs at Berkley look to the staff they believe is screwing them for their ideas. If there was a vote tomorrow, the thugs at Berkley would vote very same types of people they’re currently protesting right back in to office.
I realize that most people in US today can’t tell the differences between any of the above and I find it mildly offensive that I have stop and explain the differenes. These things should be obvious.
In reality, it’s a privilege. College tuition is a privilege that you can pay for.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.