'Free speech' talk show host says car was burglarized in SF after 'build a wall' event

Dave Rubin attends the The Young Turks Documentary "Mad as Hell" Los Angeles Premiere at Harmony Gold Theatre on November 6, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Dave Rubin attends the The Young Turks Documentary "Mad as Hell" Los Angeles Premiere at Harmony Gold Theatre on November 6, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Araya Diaz/Getty Images For The Young Turks Photo: Araya Diaz/Getty Images For The Young Turks Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close 'Free speech' talk show host says car was burglarized in SF after 'build a wall' event 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

On Tuesday evening, Dave Rubin spoke at a Bay Area event centered on the question: "Why is Berkeley a sanctuary for illegals but not conservatives?" Later that night, the YouTube talk show host, known for his right-of-center viewpoints, says his car was pillaged.

The break-in occurred outside a Chase bank in San Francisco, just hours after Rubin participated in a "Build a Wall Around Cal" discussion hosted by Berkeley College Republicans in Berkeley.

Around 10 p.m. Tuesday night, Rubin tweeted a photo of an SUV with a smashed rear window to his 358,000 followers. He said the alleged thieves stole a backpack containing clothing, headphones, a phone charger and his "comedy notebook," according to a series of follow-up tweets.

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"Not happy with you, San Francisco!" he wrote.

"Now there's some douchbag walking around San Francisco wearing my underwear and sunglasses and telling my jokes." Rubin could not be reached for comment.

Someone broke into our car in SF right after our Berkeley event. Stole my backpack. Right outside Chase bank. @SFPD pic.twitter.com/Myh2TPDkvk — Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) April 18, 2018

The former "Young Turks" personality hosts and produces "The Rubin Report," a YouTube political talk show about "big ideas and free speech," according to its website description. Political correctness, religion and mass media frequently come under fire on Rubin's hour-long web program, which has hosted the likes of Larry King and Roseanne Barr.

San Francisco's car break-in issues transcend bipartisan bickering. In San Francisco, smash-and-grabs occur at an average rate of three per hour. Despite increased police enforcement efforts,"larceny thefts from vehicles" spiked 26 percent between 2016 and 2017.

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Some parts of the city are disproportionately affected, including the Mission, Western Addition, Marina and Pacific Heights districts, all of which saw a jump in break-ins over the last year.

Rubin spun his unsavory San Francisco experience into a political jab at Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom in a Wednesday tweet.

Rubin fired back after Newsom tweeted about the California "revolution" against Trump's "ridiculous & xenophobic policies."

"Yes, a revolution of high taxes and cars being broken into and property being stolen like happened to me last night in your fair city of San Francisco," Rubin wrote. "Is that your plan as governor?"

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.