Antifa plans march to ‘defend Berkeley from Alt-right’

The Berkeley Antifa (Anti-Fascist Action) organization is planning to host a “Nazis are coming” march to “defend Berkeley from the Alt-right.”

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According to a flyer posted on the group’s social media sites, the event is set to take place at 11:00 a.m., at which point participants will march from Ohlone Park to Old City Hall. The group also posted a formal invite to the event on its Facebook page, dubbing it the "March to Defend Berkeley from the Alt-right," but the event page was taken down or made private on Tuesday.

Earlier in August, the organization tweeted a picture of the event flyer, claiming that local businesses are supporting the Antifa cause.

“These signs are beginning to go up at local businesses in #Berkeley. Nazis, alt-right, fascists not welcome here,” the group tweeted.

In a separate Facebook post, Antifa also slammed the city of Berkeley for not drawing a connection between the white supremacist riot in Charlottesville and an upcoming event that will feature an unremarkable roster of alt-right speakers.

“The city of Berkeley is either lying or completely incompetent when they claim there is no evidence of a connection between Charlottesville and the upcoming right wing rally in Berkeley,” Antifa wrote. “When it comes to keeping an eye on local fascist and white supremacist activity, trust your local antifa, not city officials.”

Meanwhile, University of California, Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ informed students this week that the school is slated to host conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro in September, stressing that although students have a right to protest the events, they must do so “peacefully.”

“The university has the responsibility to provide safety and security for its community and guests, and we will invest the necessary resources to achieve that goal,” she wrote in an email to all students. “If you choose to protest, do so peacefully.”

[RELATED: Profs solicit support for 'Campus Antifascist Network']

“That is your right, and we will defend it with vigor. We will not tolerate violence, and we will hold anyone accountable who engages in it,” she added.

Antifa has been a vocal opponent of controversial conservative speakers, and has been criticized for organizing a series of violent riots that led to the cancellation of Yiannopoulos’ planned event at Berkeley earlier this year.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @nikvofficial