Erika Kirk, the CEO of Turning Point USA and widow of Charlie Kirk, speaks during the “This is the Turning Point” event inside the Sandy and John Black Pavilion at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., on October 29, 2025.

BERKELEY, CA – Department of Justice officials said they’re launching civil rights and terrorism investigations into protests outside a Turning Point USA event on the University of California, Berkeley campus on Nov. 10, in another escalation by the Trump administration to combat what it views as left-leaning dissenters in the wake of Charlie Kirk's death.

Harmeet Dhillon, the U.S. assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, shared clips of the protest on social media and said an investigation was on the way. Attorney General Pam Bondi followed with her own post, announcing the incident is under "full investigation by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force." Both suggested an antifa, or anti-fascist movement, connection.

"The @CivilRights will investigate what happened here, and I see several issues of serious concern regarding campus and local security and Antifa’s ability to operate with impunity in CA," Dhillon said on X.

Four people were arrested at a protest outside Turning Point USA’s final college tour stop at UC Berkeley, where tempers flared over assassinated conservative activist Kirk and the political group he left behind.

The university had received no communication from the DOJ about an investigation, spokesperson Dan Mogulof said on Nov. 11.

A Turning Point spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about a possible DOJ investigation.

The investigations are the latest in the administration's efforts to crack down on political activists they deem a threat to the country.

In late September, President Donald Trump said he was "designating" antifa as a major terrorist organization. Top Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have also said they're planning to use "every resource" available across the federal government to target left-leaning organizations they contend are promoting political violence.

Authorities have not confirmed any direct links between Kirk’s accused killer and antifa, which is more of a broad political concept than an actual organization with members, leadership, or a headquarters that can be targeted, experts have said.

Protests were staged across several locations outside the Berkeley Turning Point event. Hundreds of people gathered outside Zellerbach Hall, some with their faces covered. They held signs denouncing Turning Point, fascism, Nazis, antisemitism and Trump.

Dhillon, who was appointed to lead the Department's Civil Rights Division by Trump, is a longtime Republican Party activist and party official, and founded a conservative law firm that has represented groups like the National Association for Gun Rights and the Republican National Committee. The firm also represented Trump in a defamation lawsuit brought by the so-called "Central Park Five."

Dhillon has also brought legal challenges against the University of California, Berkeley before, in a 2017 free speech case that ended in a settlement. The challenge stemmed from on-campus protests over conservative activist Milo Yiannopoulos’ planned visit.

"@UCBerkeley and the City of Berkeley should expect some incoming @CivilRights correspondence. And more. In America, we do not allow citizens to be attacked by violent thugs and shrug and turn our backs. Been there, done that, not on our watch," Dhillon said on X.

Tensions were high when Turning Point arrived at the University of California, Berkeley, known as the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. The school made national news for how it handled protests in 2017, which Dillon compared to the Nov. 10 demonstrations.

"We saw all of this at Berkeley back in 2017. @UCBerkeley was sued, and settled the case," Dhillon said.

Mogulof said he was aware of one violent incident of two people fighting, which was handled by Berkeley city police. Two people were arrested by city police, the authorities said. Mogulof said campus police arrested two other people.

A 45-year-old man was brought to the hospital after being struck in the head with a glass bottle or jar, Mogulof said. The man, who is not affiliated with the campus, suffered a laceration to his head and was transported to Highland Hospital for treatment.

Kirk was fatally shot on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, during the first stop on Turning Point’s college campus tour. He was answering a question about shootings committed by transgender people when he was shot. Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged in connection with his murder.

This story has been updated.

Stephanie Murray covers national politics and the Trump administration for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com.

Reach her via email at stephanie.murray@gannett.com and on social media @stephanie_murr.

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY.

You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Feds to investigate protest outside Turning Point USA event at UC Berkeley

Reporting by Stephanie Murray and Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

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