Police search for UC Berkeley student who vandalized GOP student group sign

Troy Worden, a member of the Berkeley College Republicans and third year student, displays one of the group’s signs that was destroyed on campus Tuesday evening. Troy Worden, a member of the Berkeley College Republicans and third year student, displays one of the group’s signs that was destroyed on campus Tuesday evening. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Police search for UC Berkeley student who vandalized GOP student group sign 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Members of the UC Berkeley campus group, Berkeley College Republicans, called for police action after they posted a video on Facebook Tuesday that they say showed a student kicking apart their wooden sign and trashing it on school campus.

The sign, that read “Berkeley College Republicans,” was stuffed in recycling bins as students from the group stood by and filmed the incident that took place Tuesday about 5 p.m. in front of Sproul Hall.

The vandal is seen breaking the sign as he says to the student filming him, “You want to do something? You are supporting violence by supporting Trump.”

Tom Johnston, a 19-year-old freshman and member of the Berkeley College Republicans who filmed the incident said he didn’t want to engage with the student even though he is six-foot-five and “had a solid 25 pounds” on him.

“I remained calm and collected,” Johnston said, who can be heard in the video saying, “We are watching our sign just being wrecked.”

Today we had one of our signs destroyed by a student. This kind of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. If you know who this student is, please get in contact with us. Posted by Berkeley College Republicans on Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Since the video was posted, members of the student group took to social media to find out the identity of the vandal, said Naweed Tahmas, a 20-year-old third year student. The video has been viewed over 144,000 times.

“We’ve got good investigators. We reported it to the police,” Tahmas said.

No arrests have been made, but Johnston said he is looking to press charges.

The incident with the sign isn’t unusual. The student group sets up a table on campus every day in hopes of engaging students and the backlash they receive from passersby has become a daily occurrence, Tahmas said.

Another sign belonging to the Berkeley College Republicans was broken into pieces about 5 p.m. Wednesday, Tahmas said.

Two men crushed a Trump yard sign by kicking it, “completely ripping it apart,” Tahmas said. “I chased them down.”

One of the men, who was on a bicycle, tried ramming into Tahmas, he said.

Tahmas filed a report with the university police.

“I’ve been spit on a few times,” Tahmas said. “I was punched three times. It’s just more motivation to keep going out there and working hard.”

The tensions come after destruction and violence permeated through the streets of Berkeley on Feb. 1 in response to the scheduled visit of Milo Yiannopoulos, a former Breitbart News editor. Yiannopoulos was invited to speak at the school by the Berkeley College Republicans, but the event was canceled just before it began when protests turned violent.

Since then, Tahmas said that photos of himself and other members of the conservative student group have been plastered throughout campus, labeling them as “Baby Fascists.”

The university administration released a statement to students, faculty and staff Wednesday afternoon following the vandalism from Nils Gilman, the associate chancellor.

“Let there be no mistake: The campus administration condemns all acts of vandalism and attempted intimidation,” the statement read. “The University is unswervingly committed to supporting and defending all our students’ First Amendment rights, and their ability to freely engage in political activities across the ideological spectrum.”

But for members of the Berkeley College Republicans, sending a statement isn’t enough and Tahmas said the answer might be having more university police around when they set up a table on campus.

“This happens every week. They release a statement to make it seem like they’re doing something. But other than that, are they really doing anything? I do believe actions speak louder than words,” Tahmas said.

Dan Mogulof, a spokesman for the university, said the incident is intolerable and university police are actively investigating the incident. There will be “serious consequences” for the student, he added.

“There’s a lot of emotion in the national context and campuses, particularly a public university like Berkeley, are not immune to that,” Mogulof said of the tension. “This is a place where people are passionate about their politics, no matter their ideology or perspectives.”

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani