Berkeley Patriots Hold Civil Rights Protest on Sproul Hall Steps
Cassandra Fairbanks
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The Berkeley Patriots, the group behind Milo’s Free Speech Week in Berkeley, held a civil rights protest on the steps of Sproul Hall on Wednesday. Big League Politics accompanied a member of the Berkeley College Republicans and two activists to check out the protests
When we arrived on the campus, there were approximately 10 protesters, despite calls for backup on social media. Those in attendance appeared to primarily be members of militant leftist group By Any Means Necessary (BAMN).
As we walked up to Sproul Plaza we caught up with Kyle Chapman, better known as Based Stick Man. Within minutes, a car drove by screaming “NAZI TRASH” out the window. Chapman, a populist and civic nationalist, is not a Nazi and has no known involvement with white nationalist movements.
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Eventually, we made our way to the steps of Sproul Hall, where members of the Berkeley Patriot had locked arms to sing the civil rights classic, “We Shall Overcome.” As the small group peacefully sang, a line of police lined the steps and a bomb squad truck was parked in the background.
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Speaking to Big League Politics, Ashton Whitty, 21, explained that she has been doxed and been disavowed by friends and family for her attempt at having author and former Breitbart Tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos on campus for Free Speech Week.
At Whitty’s side, also in a red ‘Make America Great Again’ hat was Angelie Castaneda, 20, who is transgender and Puerto Rican. After the group finished singing, Castaneda spoke of how the left claims to support transgender people, “unless it’s a tranny with the wrong opinion.”
“These days I have to say I’m trans and Latina to even be listened to by these crazy people. The moment you subvert from their narrative, you’re automatically labeled a fascist Nazi,” Castaneda told Big League. “At this point, I’m pretty used to it. On Sunday, I was surrounded by Yvette Falarca and her crew as they called me a Nazi and Fascist.”
Castaneda also described a situation in August where she feared that she was in real danger on campus over her political beliefs.
“At the last Berkeley rally back in August, I was live streaming on Facebook, and two Antifa members yelled at me saying, ‘Hey, I know you, you’re a fascist live streamer. Get the hell out of here!’ They then proceeded to follow me. I was afraid that eventually, they would call over the rest of their Antifa group and attack me like they did many other journalists and Trump supporters,” Castaneda added.
After leaving the steps, members of the Proud Boys and other Trump supporters walked over to where protesters had surrounded an unrelated meet up of black students to make it appear that they had larger numbers. A much older woman became extremely confrontational with myself and Chapman, placing her hands and body in front of our cameras.
The dueling protests unwound without any serious incidents.
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