Posted on 02/06/2017 6:35:28 PM PST by nickcarraway
Members and people with loose affiliations to the group have had their contact information stolen.
Members of the student group that invited alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos to UC Berkeley say they have been physically assaulted and targeted online in the days since Wednesdays fiery protests.
Were probably the most harassed group on campus right now, said Naweed Tahmas, a member of the Berkeley College Republicans. He noted that the club needed a security detail for a meeting last Thursday, a sign that tensions between the group and the area's liberal-leaning majority may have hit an apex.
Ive been spit on, my friends have been punched our pictures have been posted online, Tahmas said. Ive been followed when I was walking back from campus. Some guy came up to us and said, Ill catch you in the shadows. That sounded like a threat to us.
Yiannopoulos, a Breitbart editor known for espousing racist, transphobic and misogynistic views, was slated to speak to a crowd of about 500 at the behest of the conservative group. Police canceled the speech after a bloc of protesters broke windows, started fires and tried to storm the building where Yiannopoulos was located.
Many have speculated that the para-militarized bloc, clad in all black and wielding crowbars, were outsiders who came to campus. Students and administrators have since come out and condemned Wednesday's violence, which took place at what was originally intended to be a peaceful demonstration.
Ive dealt with people being intolerant to my political views on campus, said group member Bradley Devlin, who describes himself as a moderate Republican. But these people were seeking blood.
Although some students have shown club members support since the protest, hostility and anger toward them has increased since Wednesday's events, Tahmas and Devlin said. When they hand out fliers in the campus hub, it's not uncommon for them to be spit on or have expletives yelled at them.
People with loose affiliations to the group have also been targeted. Several people told NBC Bay Area that they have been sent nefarious emails from a person threatening to doxx them, a practice in which personal information is leaked online. The emails stem from an incident Thursday, when club members were handing out fliers and a contact information sheet was stolen. A spokesperson for UCPD said the department is looking into the incident, but noted that the emails have not yet reached a criminal level.
Judging from the email, it appears the person threatening to release the information erroneously believes the sheet to be a roster of people who planned to attend the Yiannopoulos event. In fact, the list is mostly made up of people who are not members of Berkeley College Republicans but were interested in learning more about the group.
I fully plan to publish the list of your names as attendees at the aforementioned campus event, the email, signed by a blogger identifying himself as OLAASM, warned. I dont believe that participation support of an event of this nature should be shrouded in secrecy. I believe it is in the public interest to know who is doing this kind of thing.
Tahmas said the email is tantamount to punishing a person for seeking alternative viewpoints on an issue.
Paul Iskajyan, a third-year political science student at UC Berkeley, signed the list to get updates on the group. He said he is wholly opposed to Yiannopoulos and says his views greatly conflict with that of the Berkeley College Republicans.
A small part of me is worried that someone on the fringes might find this on the internet, Iskajyan said.
Yiannopoulos has a history of targeting individuals with whom he disagrees politically. At a University of Milwaukee speaking engagement, he singled out and mocked a transgender student. Rumors swirled after the event that the Breitbart editor planned to read out a list of names of undocumented students at UC Berkeley, a claim Yiannopoulos denied.
Still, members of the Berkeley College Republicans said Yiannopoulos should have been able to go on with his appearance. Some are even going so far as to say he is the leader of a new free speech movement.
Well, hes a symbol of free speech for us," Tahmas said. "Whether we like it or not, maybe we could have a better vehicle. Thats not up to me. Right now, hes the symbol of free speech on college campuses.
Tahmas said the controversy surrounding Yiannopoulos visit have made the group more popular than ever.
Theres definitely a silver lining there, but I wish it didnt come to that, he said. But it did increase the membership, and the administration is taking us more seriously now.
Source: Berkeley Republicans 'Doxxed,' Harassed After Protest | NBC Bay Area http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Berkeley-College-Republicans-Report-Harassment-Following-Milo-Protest-412965603.html#ixzz4XxlM7cM1 Follow us: @NBCBayArea on Twitter | NBCBayArea on Facebook
These guys are like Jews in Nazi Germany.
I’d just get the flock out of there before someone gets killed. Kinda surprised it hasn’t happened yet.
Liberals are all for free speech... so long as they agree with it.
Are e-mails subject to the same rules as snail mail? If so, isn’t this a federal offense?
Its not quite there...but I keep thinking of the Nazis. Conservatives legitimately have fears for their safety
Deal with it, dahhhhling..!
I just shared this on Facebook to see what some of my idiot “friends” would say about it.
I posted the article about Trump being blocked from speaking at the British Parliament, and two of them actually “liked” it =:-O
For too long weve had a political elite dominate the people. We have no voice anymore. This is the best way to make the change, to bring the government back to the people, to shift the power back to the working class, the average Americans. Thats why I truly believe in Trump. Naweed Tahmas, junior, political science, member of Berkeley College Republicans
Note: This article was before the election.
And just so those outside California know, no one in the bay area has a CCW permit except for judges and political donors.
The police will not protect you and will throw you in jail for daring to have the ability to defend your self.
It used to be nice here...
Too bad these college Republicans aren’t going to school in Texas. We have campus carry here.
How can these violent, intolerant, harassing leftists not see how thoroughly they’ve adapted the Brownshirts’ tactics? They’ve become what they claim they are fighting.
Today’s Republicans need federal help to protect their Constitutional right to equal protection of the law, just like freed slaves got such help from Republicans after the civil war.
The killing fields are being planted. May God bless the few that know right from wrong in CA.
Tolerance of the Left bump for later...
So we know that ONE side is now engaging in open violent battle (among other criminal acts) against patriots and the gov’t.
I was listening to today’s TruNews show where they called it what it is: outright, clear sedition. I think we’re all just waiting to see what President Trump will do once Sen. Sessions is sworn in as AG. If he can come down hard on these violent rioters, and clean out 90% of the Fed Gov’t, CW2 might just be averted. I really hope so.
They should have washed his mouth out with the concrete slab.
Quit those schools! Spend your money elsewhere. Deprive them of your funds!
I’m amazed that any conservative (or even moderate RINO type) would enroll there.
I got into some interesting conversations, but I never felt threatened.
I used to complain that Berkeley had never gotten over the '60s. Now that I see what it has become, I promise to stop complaining. Bring back the '60s.
Because with the leftists it is RELIGION not POLITICS . Any disagreement is heresy that must be allowed to exist. Those who disagree must be punished or destroyed this sadly will end in bloodshed.
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