Leftist Assaults Conservative Student As Berkley Onlookers Laugh

Shocking moment conservative activist is punched in the face on UC-Berkeley campus over sign reading 'hate crime hoaxes hurt real victims'

• Hayden Williams was attacked on Tuesday at the campus in Berkeley, California
• He was running a sign-up table for conservative group Turning Points USA
• Table had a sign referencing the Jussie Smollett case as an alleged hate hoax
• Angry man called Williams a 'racist' and punched him in the face, video shows
• Campus police are investigating and ask the public for information on the perp

An assault on a conservative activist on the University of California-Berkeley campus has been caught on camera.

Hayden Williams was running a campus recruitment table for the conservative group Turning Points USA on Tuesday when he was approached by a violent attacker, video of the incident shows.

According to Campus Reform, the sign on the group's table read 'hate crime hoaxes hurt real victims,' a reference to allegations that actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in Chicago.

The man who attacked Williams shouted: 'Mother f**ker. You racist little inbred b***h. C**t!'

At one point, he also threatened to 'shoot' Williams.

Williams said that as the attack unfolded, a number of people simply stood by and watched.

'Some students nearby tabling were laughing, even one guy was smiling while I was being attacked and trying to hand me his flyer as a joke,' he told Campus Reform.

'The idea is free speech has consequences.... which include you getting assaulted if they find you promoting ideas others don't agree with.'

Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point, a campus group devoted to limited government and free markets, said that the incident highlighted a double standard.

'Imagine if the attacker was wearing MAGA hat, would be national news! This is the violent left!' Kirk wrote on Twitter.

The incident drew notice from several conservative figures with national profiles.

'When a liberal like Jussie cries wolf and fakes an attack he receives unmatched coverage, sympathy & support creating a tsunami of attention,' wrote Don Trump Jr on Twitter. 'When a conservative student literally gets punched in the face and it’s caught on video it barely makes a ripple.'

Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, wrote: 'This is abhorrent behavior against free speech on campus. No form of violence is acceptable!'

Williams was helping Turning Point USA, but he is not actually a member of the group. Williams is campus representative for Leadership Institute, which runs Campus Reform, the website that first reported on the incident.

Guillermina Castro, a UC-Berkeley freshman, told Fox News that she was spearheading the drive to create a Turning Point chapter on campus, and that Williams was helping her by manning the table while she was in class.

She said she was shocked to return to find the flyers on the table ripped up and Williams nursing his injured eye.

Castro said that when she tweeted about the incident, she received a flood of messages applauding the attack, and accusing her of being a 'white supremacist.'

'I said 'Wait, I'm Latina!' she said.

UC-Berkeley campus police said in a statement that the attack took place at 3.29pm on Upper Sproul Plaza.

Police said that there were two men who approached the table and confronted the alleged victim.

'A physical confrontation ensued when one of the two men slapped the phone out of the victim’s hand,' the police statement said.

.The suspect then knocked over the table the victim was at and the two men struggled over the phone. During the incident, the suspect punched the victim several times causing injury to the victim’s eye and nose.' [SOURCE]

Jussie Smollett, Pals Reportedly Rehearsed Alleged Attack

Jussie Smollett; Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo

By Lia Eustachewich February 17, 2019 | 9:58am

Jussie Smollett allegedly promised to pay his two pals $4,000 to stage his racist and homophobic assault — which the trio even rehearsed beforehand, according to a new report.

The embattled “Empire” star paid $3,500 to bodybuilding brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo before they left for Nigeria the day of the Jan. 29 attack, and promised another $500 upon their return to the US, sources told CBS Chicago.

Late Saturday, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said cops reached out to Smollett’s lawyers to arrange a follow-up interview.

“We can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation,” said Guglielmi, who did not elaborate further.

The brothers told cops that the alleged attack in Chicago was supposed to happen before Jan. 29 and that they practiced it in the days before it happened.

Smollett, 36, also allegedly paid for the rope, which was purchased from the Crafty Beaver Hardware Store in the Ravenswood neighborhood the weekend of Jan. 25.

Sources said one of the brothers held the rope and poured bleach on Smollett during the 2 a.m. attack, while the other donned a red hat and shouted racist and homophobic slurs at him.

The red hat was bought at an Uptown beauty supply store.

Smollett has claimed his two attackers called him a “f—-t,” “n—-r” and yelled “This is MAGA country!” before throwing a noose around his neck and dousing him in an unknown “chemical substance.”

The Osundairo brothers were arrested Wednesday, the same day they returned from Nigeria, and identified as suspects — but then released Friday without charges.

They are cooperating in the investigation and holed up at an undisclosed location.

Cops have said the pair of budding model-actors have a “relationship” with Smollett and worked on his hit TV show on Fox.

Smollett’s attorneys Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson released a statement late Saturday, saying the actor is “angered and devastated” by claims he staged the attack, according to ABC Chicago.

“He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying,” the statement said. “One of these purported suspects was Jussie’s personal trainer who he hired to ready him physically for a music video. It is impossible to believe that this person could have played a role in the crime against Jussie or would falsely claim Jussie’s complicity.”

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. took to Twitter to weigh in on the Smollett controversy.

“It appears that Jussie Smollett tried to manufacture a hate crime to make Trump supporters look bad and most of the media not only uncritically accepted his lies as facts for weeks, but attacked those who questioned the validity of his false story,” Trump Jr. wrote.

President Trump previously condemned the alleged hate crime as “horrible.”

Smollett claimed the beatdown was provoked by his public comments against Trump.

Additional reporting by Gabrielle Fonrouge [SOURCE]

Police Sources: New Evidence Suggests Jussie Smollett Orchestrated Attack

Jussie Smollett appears on ABC's Good Morning America with an emotional testimony, complete with details and social commentary, explaining his victimhood.

Chicago (CNN)Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN that Chicago Police believe actor Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate an assault on him that he reported late last month.

Smollett denies playing a role in his attack, according to a statement from his attorneys.


The men, who are brothers, were arrested Wednesday but released without charges Friday after Chicago police cited the discovery of "new evidence."

The sources told CNN the two men are now cooperating fully with law enforcement.

Smollett told authorities he was attacked early January 29 by two men who were "yelling out racial and homophobic slurs." He said one attacker put a rope around his neck and poured an unknown chemical substance on him.

The sources told CNN there are records that show the two brothers purchased the rope found around Smollett's neck at a hardware store in Chicago.

Smollett's attorneys, Todd S. Pugh and Victor P. Henderson, issued a statement to CNN Saturday night saying Smollett was angry about these latest developments.

"As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with," the statement read. "He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying."

Smollett's attorneys said they expect further updates from Chicago police on the investigation and will continue cooperating with authorities.

"At the present time, Jussie and his attorneys have no inclination to respond to 'unnamed' sources inside of the investigation, but will continue discussions through official channels," the statement read.
Smollett identifies as gay and since 2015 has played the gay character of Jamal on the Fox TV drama "Empire."

What happened

According to Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, the actor told detectives he was attacked by two men near the lower entrance of a Loews hotel in Chicago. Police were told the two men yelled "'Empire' fa***t" and "'Empire' n***er'" while striking him.

In a supplemental interview with authorities, Smollett confirmed media reports that one of the attackers also shouted, "This is MAGA country," a reference to President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan.

The day after the incident, police released surveillance images that showed two silhouetted individuals walking down a sidewalk, and police said they were wanted for questioning.

The two men were arrested Wednesday. Police on Friday said the men were being viewed as "potential suspects" and that detectives had "probable cause that they may have been involved in an alleged crime."
But by Friday night they had been released, Guglielmi said, "due to new evidence as a result of today's investigations."

"And detectives have additional investigative work to complete," he added.

One of the men has appeared on "Empire," Guglielmi said. A police source also told CNN on Friday night that the men had a previous affiliation with Smollett, but did not provide additional details.

Smollett has expressed frustration about not being believed

Following the alleged attack, Smollett's colleagues and fans rallied around him, expressing shock and sadness.

"We have to love each other regardless of what sexual orientation we are because it shows that we are united on a united front," Lee Daniels, the creator of "Empire," said in a video posted to his Instagram page on January 29. "And no racist f*** can come in and do the things that they did to you. Hold your head up, Jussie. I'm with you."

Smollett gave his first detailed account of what he says was a hate crime against him, and the aftermath, in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" that aired Thursday.
During the interview he expressed frustration at not being believed.

"It feels like if I had said it was a Muslim or a Mexican or someone black I feel like the doubters would have supported me a lot much more," Smollett said. "And that says a lot about the place where we are as a country right now."

Smollett stated that one of the attackers shouted "this is MAGA country" before punching him in the face. But he refuted reports that said he told police the attackers wore "Make America Great Again" hats.
"I never said that," he told ABC's Robin Roberts. "I didn't need to add anything like that. They called me a f****t, they called me a n****r. There's no which way you cut it. I don't need some MAGA hat as the cherry on some racist sundae."

CNN's Ryan Young and Brad Parks reported from Chicago, while Dakin Andone reported and wrote this story in Atlanta. CNN's Lisa Respers France, Sandra Gonzalez, Deanna Hackney, Shawn Nottingham and Amir Vera contributed to this report. [SOURCE]