Aftermath

Maybe these nice folks would like to contribute to pay for it.

There was a brief rally of some kind at Berkeley yesterday, all that was left of "free speech week." Lawyers said to represent the spotty student group that was the sponsor are saying they will file a complaint against the university:

The Berkeley Patriot filed a civil rights complaint Tuesday against the UC Berkeley administration for allegedly “systematically and intentionally violating” its members’ civil liberties by suppressing their First Amendment rights.

Marguerite Melo, one of the attorneys from the law firm Melo & Sarsfield representing the conservative campus online publication, said her clients are requesting that the U.S. Department of Justice conduct an investigation into the campus’s conduct.

She alleged in the complaint that members of the Berkeley Patriot feel that their freedom of speech, freedom of association and right to equal protection have been denied by UC Berkeley...

Full story at http://www.dailycal.org/2017/09/22/berkeley-patriot-files-civil-rights-complaint-against-uc-berkeley/

Given evidence that there wasn't actually a plan for a free speech week, and/or that the organizers knew in advance it would not occur, look for the university to countersue to recover the costs which it says were $800,000. (So says non-lawyer yours truly.)

UC Berkeley spent about $800,000 on a massive security detail that drew police from eight law enforcement agencies and campuses across the state.

“It feels like probably the most expensive photo opp in the university’s history,” said UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof.

Wearing an American flag hoodie under a jean jacket and his ubiquitous sunglasses, Yiannopoulos signed autographs, posed for selfies, sang the National Anthem and chatted informally with about 150 supporters, many donning “Make America Great Again” hats, as counter-protesters and members of the media watched from behind barricades.

Without a public address system, it wasn’t clear what Yiannopoulos told the crowd in brief remarks that substituted as a kickoff to his Free Speech Week, which a sponsoring student group canceled on Saturday.

Full story at http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/24/update-barricades-ring-sproul-plaza-as-berkeley-braces-for-milo-yiannopoulos/

As for the $800,000, if the folks in the picture above don't want to contribute, we could ask the hot dog vendor in our previous post. Just a thought.