A man was attacked and beaten at the Berkeley rioting but he turned out to be in the group that they were supposedly defending from President Trump's policies.
According to a college reporter he was a Syrian Muslim.
The rioting broke out when left-wing "anti-fascist" groups coordinated a demonstration against the speech of an alt-right Breitbart editor at UC Berkeley. It devolved into violence and destruction of property that was characterized as "anti-free speech" intolerance by many on the right.
In in opinion column in the New York Times,Malini Ramaiyer, a reporter for the UC Berkeley newspaper, recalled talking to a victim of the leftist violence.
Then I saw someone wearing all black walk up to a student wearing a suit and say, “You look like a Nazi.” The student was confused, but before he could reply, the black-clad person pepper-sprayed him and hit him on the back with a rod.
Ramaiyer says she ran after the man, and asked to get his name and other information. He told her he was a Syrian Muslim, but he ran off in fear for more attacks from the protesters.
The rioting was ostensibly against Trump's executive orders, including the controversial travel ban that put a moratorium on refugee resettlement from certain terror-stricken countries including Syria, where the Berkeley victim said he was from.
The Berkeley rioting became a divisive issue as some on the left defended the violence, while others agreed with the right that it was counterproductive. Trump even threatened to cut federal funding from the school if they continued with this kind of violence.
Trump's advisor Kellyanne Conway went further and blamed the media for inciting rioting against Trump supporters. One ugly example was caught on video when a woman in a Trump hat was pepper sprayed by a protester.
The travel ban is now in legal limbo as a federal judge issued a restraining order on the executive order, Homeland Security rescinded all restrictions from Trump's command, and the administration has filed an appeal with the court. Recent polling shows about half of Americans support the restrictions.
