WSOF welterweight Jake Shields said he couldn’t stand by as masked men beat a Donald Trump supporter during Wednesday’s protests at the University of California, Berkeley.

“That’s when I had to intervene, because no one is helping the guy, including the police,” Shields told MMAjunkie.

The veteran MMA fighter found himself in the middle of a chaotic scene as a protesters fanned out after damaging campus buildings, setting off fireworks and igniting a tree.

The protest erupted in response to the speaking appearance of Breitbart editor and right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, who’d been invited to the campus by the student group Berkeley College Republicans. The event was canceled soon after violence broke out.

Although university officials said several people were arrested after attacking two members of the student group, Shields backed reports of bystanders being attacked with pepper spray and batons. He also claimed police refused to intervene.

“I went to try to get police assistance, and they said they wouldn’t go in there,” he said. “People were getting attacked and beat up.”

Shields, 38, had just finished dinner with his girlfriend in the school’s vicinity when he saw a man, wearing a Trump hat and “covered in blood,” being chased through the streets.

“There were hundreds of them around, with weapons, so I was trying to diffuse the situation with the least amount of effort possible,” he said. “Generally, when you throw a punch, guys back off.”

A onetime UFC welterweight title challenger and former Strikeforce champion who now fights for WSOF, Shields punched a few of the protesters and broke up the fracas, he said. One of the protesters even recognized him. A camera caught the ensuing argument (via Twitter).

The aftermath of me helping a guy after being jumped by thugs. The police and 100's of civilians stood and watched. pic.twitter.com/7hN2iJ4kkf — Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) February 2, 2017

“Dude, you guys got your face covered, you’re attacking people – you’re being (expletive) fascists,” he told one of the masked men as several others milled about.

Although he’d interrupted the attackers, Shields sensed the situation was quickly deteriorating.

“I stood around and tried to stop some other people from getting beat, and it just kept getting more and more chaotic, so eventually I left,” he said. “There were just too many people and too many weapons, so it was time for me to get out of there. I tried to get the police to do their job, but they weren’t willing to.”

Shields (31-8-1), who recently lost a bid for the WSOF welterweight title against fellow vet Jon Fitch (28-7-1), sustained no injuries in the incident. Although he identifies as a moderate, with friends on both sides of the political aisle, he blasted the protesters’ approach.

“I don’t think those people are capable of rationalizing,” he said. “I think they’ve switched their brains to where if you have a different opinion of them, you’re a Nazi. I hate Nazis, too, but who determines what’s a Nazi?

“There were hundreds of people cheering on, ‘Get the Nazi,’ and I went up and started arguing with them. Why’s this guy a Nazi? What did he say to make him a Nazi? No one could say.”

Shields said he was influenced by his late father Jack Shields’ civic activism during anti-war protests in San Francisco in the 1960s, and what he saw bore no resemblance to that ideal.

“I think both sides on the right and left have gone crazy,” the fighter said. “I think the left has gone more crazy because they’re saying the right is so crazy, but they’re the ones stirring up all this chaos.”

Although Shields makes a living with his fists, he said dissent should never involve violence.

“You need to have a conversation with people,” he said. “Maybe instead of attacking Milo, they should have went in and debated him and say why they don’t agree with his issues. Most people want the same thing. They want America to be a better place; they just have slightly different ideas on how it needs to be done.”

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