DOJ Launches Investigation into UC Berkeley over Antifa ‘Mob Violence’

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it was investigating the University of California, Berkeley, a day after “mob violence” by Antifa protesters occurred outside a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event.

In an article on X, Civil Rights Division Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon common a letter addressed to UC Berkeley Police Chief Yogananda Pittman. The letter asked Pittman to “preserve all documents” in his possession that are “relevant to the agency’s preparation, execution, and response to the Turning Point event held” on campus Monday, as well as associated protests.

“The @CivilRights division, under the leadership of @AGPamBondi, has requested that UC Berkeley Police preserve all records regarding their response to mob violence at UC Berkeley’s TPUSA event,” Dhillon said in his post. “Every American has the right to speak and attend events without fear.”

The letter stated, in part, that the situation at the TPUSA event “may involve the commitment of the University of California to provide adequate security”:

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice recently became aware of concerning incidents that occurred on your campus at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, on or about November 10, 2026. These events may involve the University of California’s commitment to providing adequate security pursuant to a 2018 settlement agreement in Young America Foundation, et al. v. Napolitano et al.United States District Court, Northern District of California, No. 17-02255. Our office has previously opened investigations into the University of California system for potential violations of Title VI and Title VII based on other events. We will determine whether the events of November 10 should also be included in these investigations. We also determine whether recent events provide a basis for further investigation into violations of federal rights, including, but not limited to, violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

Dhillon’s letter also explained that the request to preserve all records related to the response to violence at the TPUSA event included, but was not limited to, all written or electronic communications from UC Berkeley campus police regarding the incident or TPUSA, “generally within the past year,” as well as “minutes and communications of any pre-event planning, either internal or with external groups” relating to the event, among other things.

The letter to Pittman follows the release Monday on social media of video footage showing masked Antifa protesters lighting flares and shouting, “Fuck you, fascists.”