UC Berkeley protest turns violent with injuries, sparks federal investigation

Last month, a group of protesters marched down West Temple Street Downtown Los Angeles At the national anti-Trump #NoKings protests, holding a sign that read: “Defeat Trump’s fascist takeover. Stop ICE raids and deportations by any means necessary.”

In one corner, four bold letters stood out: “BAMN,” an acronym for “By Any Means Necessary.” The rest of the sign spells out the keys to the group’s full name in small print: “Alliance to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigration Rights and Fight for Equality by Any Means Necessary.”

The organization — one of 266 groups with annual revenues totaling $2.9 billion identified by Fox News Digital that has led the #NoKings protests — will soon resurface at a flashpoint this week on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.

Protesters hold signs as they demonstrate outside a Turning Point USA event at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). Two months after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was murdered, the tour made a stop in California at UC Berkeley. The demonstration took place in Berkeley, California, on November 10, 2025. (Photo by Justin Sullivan)

On Monday night, the group proudly broadcast videos on its Instagram channel of its leaders inciting angry mobs in the streets again, this time on the Berkeley campus, and staging a protest that turned into a bloody brawl outside Berkeley. Turning point USA The event led to the arrest of a number of people.

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A leaflet was distributed before the demonstration urging participants to “End the Fascist Tipping Point’s campaign of youth incitement to violence!” She announced a rally outside Zellerbach Hall an hour before the doors opened for the event.

The group calling itself BAMN, short for By Any Means Necessary, was part of the anti-Trump #NoKings rally last month, then showed up at a protest against Turning Point USA that turned violent.

At first glance, the bulletin looks like many other activist bulletins. But its digital trajectory tells a deeper story.

The QR code printed on the flyer leads to a page on BAMN.com, a domain featured on the group’s #NoKings banner weeks ago, “By Any Means Necessary.” On the page, visitors can download the “Flyer PDF” and “Poster PDF” directly. Journalist Andy Njo, author of a book on far-left violence and the Antifa network, shared the post on social media, warning that the phrase “by any means necessary” is a long-standing fixture within the chaotic ecosystem of groups associated with the “anti-fascist” movement.

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Fox News Digital examined the metadata included in both documents to track the money in “By Any Means Necessary.” Each file was created on November 9, one day before the protest, and both listed the “owner” as “ronald.cruz@ueaa.net.” The email domain, ueaa.net, is associated with a far-left Detroit-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the United for Equality and Affirmative Action Legal Defense Fund, which By Any Means Necessary describes as a nonprofit “affiliate.” They act as a fluid entity in protests, from #NoKings to anti-Israel actions after the October 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists.

Protesters confront UC Berkeley police outside a Turning Point USA event at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). The event was the final stop on a tour started by group founder Charlie Kirk that has since served as a series of memorials to Kirk, who was shot and killed at an event in September. The confrontation took place in Berkeley, California, on November 10, 2025. (Photo by Justin Sullivan)

Ronald Cruz, a licensed California attorney, is listed in state bar records as counsel for the United Legal Defense Fund for Equality and Affirmative Action. Tax records show it has been tax-exempt at the federal level since March 2022. Cruz did not return a request for comment.

What’s more, under the heading “Storage used”, both documents state that the files are “owned by the UEAA Legal Defense Fund”. By Any Means Necessary The United Legal Defense Fund for Equality and Affirmative Action did not respond to a request for comment.

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On its official “Donate” page, the leaders of “By Any Means Necessary” confirm this connection. They guide visitors on how to operate The donation is tax deductiblenoting excitedly, “You can contribute to our 501(c)(3) legal defense fund, United for Equality and Affirmative Action (UEAALDF)! The money goes toward our broader legal issues, organizing, and education.” With one click, visitors are directed to the UEAALDF website at ueaa.net, legitimizing the activist network under the guise of charity.

While the organization’s balance sheet is small, with tax-exempt “general support” totaling $99,348 over five years from 2018 through 2022, the most recent year available, the implications are significant.

As experts have noted, this case illustrates how organizations leverage their non-profit status to claim moral and legal legitimacy while allegedly fomenting organized street violence, sectarian division, sectarian hatred, and activities outside the bounds of “charitable” purpose.

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Following the assassination in September of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, he became president Donald Trump Vice President J.D. Vance called for closer scrutiny of nonprofits that receive tax benefits while allegedly promoting political violence.

The convergence of tax-exempt organizations, campus unrest, and politically motivated violence underscores the emerging challenge in the nonprofit sector. Groups like By Any Means Necessary allegedly exploit the credibility and financial protection of charitable status while operating as de facto political activists, often in coordination with broader ideological movements such as Students for Justice in Palestine, first established by Palestinian-American academic Hatem Bazian at UC Berkeley.

Metadata and linked digital trails for UC Berkeley protest It reveals a well-coordinated infrastructure beneath the seemingly spontaneous protests, raising questions about accountability, transparency and the use of the tax code as a weapon of political warfare.

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The contrast between “By Any Means Necessary” activists marching relatively peacefully at a #NoKings protest last month and the violent clash their protests helped incite at UC Berkeley this week highlights how some groups exploit nonprofit status to appear charitable one day while allegedly fomenting chaos, sectarianism, hatred, and violence the next.

The UC Berkeley protests also raise questions about malign foreign influence. On its “Affiliates” page, By Any Means Necessary includes a link to the website of the International Trotskyist Committee for the Renewal of the Fourth International, which organizes “militants” who support early 20th-century Soviet communist leader Leon Trotsky and the rise of global “revolutionary Marxism.” The committee includes the League of Revolutionary Workers and the Revolutionary International League, both declared communist groups.

The nonprofit group’s participation in the #NoKings march as well as the violent protest in Berkeley underscores a troubling connection.

A leaflet entitled “Victory for the Palestinian Struggle” includes slogans of “by all means” and communist groups.

The violence in Berkeley prompted a prosecutor Pam Bondi and Assistant U.S. Attorney for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon to open a federal counterterrorism investigation into the unrest. In a letter to UC Berkeley administrators and UC Berkeley Police, Dillon directed officials to preserve all records related to the protest while she investigated whether the university had violated federal rules. civil rights Or protect freedom of expression. She told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that protesters exercised a “veto” against Turning Point USA, and that she would investigate whether university officials and instigators conspired to deny political conservatives equal protection under the law.

In its most recent tax filing, United for Equality and Affirmative Action listed four officers: Shanta Driver, president and director; Mark Airgood, secretary and treasurer; Yvette Villarca, Director; Hoko Jeffrey, Director. They did not return requests for comment.

One Instagram video showed a note in the introduction, noting “BAMN national organizer Hoko Jeffrey speaks out against tipping point.” In the video, Jeffrey told the gathering that he wanted protesters to communicate to Turning Point USA attendees that “this is not a campus where they are welcome.” He said: “What Hitler got away with, Donald Trump and his fascist movement can never get away with.”

Meanwhile, the United Legal Defense Fund for Equality and Affirmative Action claims, in its tax filing, that the “primary purpose of the exemption” is clear and straightforward: “to promote the civil rights movement; educate the public about civil rights; and conduct research on civil rights matters.”

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Its homepage features Instagram videos posted by its leaders from the UC Berkeley protest. It dominates its website Anti-Israel protests He calls for “victory of the Palestinian struggle!” She invites visitors to sign a petition to oppose a lawsuit against the UC Berkeley system and the University of California system for allegedly allowing this Anti-Semitism against Jewish students On their campus.

It declares, “Defending freedom of expression and academic freedom for supporters of the Palestinian struggle!”