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After UC Berkeley Riots, Students Targeted

Students have received concerning emails ever since the event was shut down by protesters.

February 06, 2017 CS Staff

After UC Berkeley Riots, Students Targeted

Protesters threw fireworks and Molotov cocktails at police during the riots Feb. 1.

The student group behind a controversial event that led to riots at the University of California Berkeley last week says it is being harassed.

Students affiliated with the Berkeley College Republicans say they’ve received threatening emails since their event was shut down by protesters Feb. 1.

“It’s completely disappointing that targeted harassment is still occurring even after [the protesters] reached their goal of shutting down Milo and that they attack people who aren’t members of the Berkeley College Republicans,” BCR member Naweed Tahmas told kron4.com.

The worrying emails began after a man on a bike stole the group’s mailing list from a table on campus the day after the event. Since then, approximately 1,000 students who are subscribed to the list have received the emails.

Only about 50 students are active members in the BCR.

An anonymous person has also threatened to publish all of the student’s names online.

“They could be assaulted,” BCR member Bradley Devlin says. “They are in danger through this email list. If we don’t stop it, we could see a drastic impact on campus safety.”

Tensions surrounding the BCR-sponsored speaking event featuring the conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos quickly led to rioting and violence on campus Wednesday night. The event was cancelled amid attacks on students and campus police and after $100,000 worth of damage was caused to the campus.

President Donald Trump threatened to pull federal funding to UC Berkeley if they failed to allow free speech on campus.

University officials have blamed the bulk of the destruction on an Oakland anarchist group known as the “Black Bloc” that isn’t associated with students. At least six people were injured and one arrest was made in the chaos.

UC Berkeley had previously sought to impose a $6,372 security fee on the BCR, which was agreed to in anticipation of the protests. The money was based on the costs of providing security inside the Student Center where the event was set to take place. The security surrounding the Student Center was going to be covered by the school. But the security fee was waived in light of the event’s cancellation, reports The Daily Californian.

“[BCR] won’t be required to pay it because the event never actually took place,” UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof says. “They’re not going to be charged for event security for an event that didn’t happen. The additional security outside the venue… is not the responsibility of the Berkeley College Republicans.”

The concept of passing down security costs to students has been debated by schools across the country as heated protests have made hosting some events, particularly those involving Yiannopoulos, expensive and made heightened security necessary.

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