Yesterday I wrote about the Antifa counter-protest which took place in Portland over the weekend, but there was another Antifa mob marching in Berekely on Sunday. The Mercury News reported on the rally which resulted in 20 arrests and a similar number of vandalized city vehicles:

Anti-fascist protesters surrounded and shouted down the outnumbered alt-right demonstrators, some of whom wore Army fatigues and combat boots, as they gathered at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park for a “No To Marxism in Berkeley” rally — the latest in a series of standoffs taking place all over the country. Protesters stood inches apart, screaming in each other’s faces, and in some cases pushing and shoving one another. Berkeley police had arrested 20 people as of Sunday evening — mostly on suspicion of carrying prohibited weapons. Two people taken into custody had scrapes and bloody faces in their mug shots. Police reported three minor injuries, all of which were treated at the scene… Protesters threw homemade fireworks at officers in the area of Milvia and Center streets, prompting police to deploy a smoke canister, [Officer Byron] White said. As of Sunday afternoon, police reported protesters also had vandalized more than 20 cars, all of which were Berkeley city vehicles — smashing their windows and setting one on fire — and burned three dumpsters.

Most of the damage was done by a group of black-clad Antifa members who left the site of the main rally and ran through the street ahead of the police. A livestreamer named Ford Fischer followed the group and captured video of them breaking windows at a military recruiting office:

Notice at the end of this clip Fischer is being warned that no cops are around and he better leave before more Antifa show up to confront him. In an appearance on Fox News, Fischer said he did leave and added, “Frankly, I have no doubt that I would have been hurt had I not left.”

Despite all of this, there has been some criticism of the Berkeley police for posting mugshots of the people they arrested. Here’s a sample:

Thomas Parker, 22, of Berkeley, was arrested near Francisco and McGee for working with others to commit a crime. pic.twitter.com/5hvq2iPRtS — Berkeley Police (@berkeleypolice) August 5, 2018

Blake Griffith, 29, of Oakland, was arrested near Addison and Martin Luther King Jr. Way for vandalism. pic.twitter.com/r7pXhMgKvu — Berkeley Police (@berkeleypolice) August 5, 2018

Bella Podolsky, 27, of San Francisco, was arrested near Civic Center Park for possession of a banned weapon. pic.twitter.com/6p31jRKFyL — Berkeley Police (@berkeleypolice) August 5, 2018

Caitlin Boyle, 27, of Oakland, was arrested for working with others to commit a crime. pic.twitter.com/QilrPNfLUy — Berkeley Police (@berkeleypolice) August 5, 2018

Fox News reports there is concern from some quarters that police were targeting Antifa and could be putting them in danger:

Veena Dubal, a law professor at the University of California, said she found it “disturbing” that the police department would post the mugshots and risk the possibility of putting the demonstrators in danger. “This is very disturbing,” Dubal told The Guardian. “It seems like a public-shaming exercise, which is not the role of the police department…They are making it really accessible for folks who might wish these people harm to locate them.”… Jay Kim, the executive director of the National Lawyers Guild local chapter, said he felt police were targeting “anti-fascist protesters.” “It really seemed to us like the Berkeley police department was there to…target the anti-fascist protesters,” Kim said. Kim said about 21 people contacted the NLG regarding the arrests, claiming the “vast majority” arrested were anti-fascist protesters.

Just a theory here but maybe the reason the majority of people arrested were Antifa members is that Antifa members were the ones smashing things and carrying weapons. A spokesman for the Berkeley police told Fox News, “People are coming from out of town and bringing weapons and are committed to violence…We don’t want people to be able to do that with anonymity.”

That sounds pretty reasonable to me. In case you had any doubt who was doing the smashing, here’s a bunch of Antifa goons smashing city vehicle windows while yelling, “F**k the city of Berkeley!” The city should have no regrets about arresting these creeps.