Violent protesters block Berkeley talk by Breitbart editor

BERKELEY, Calif. — Protesters hurled smoke bombs, broke windows and sparked a massive bonfire Wednesday night, prompting University of California at Berkeley officials to cancel a talk by a polarizing editor of Breitbart News out of safety concerns. But officials said it was a smaller group of protesters dressed in black and in hooded sweatshirts that showed up as night fell to break windows with metal barricades, throw smoke bombs and flares and start a large bonfire outside the building with a diesel generator. “This was a group of agitators who were masked up, throwing rocks, commercial grade fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers,” said UC Berkeley Police Chief Margo Bennet. One thing we do know for sure: the Left is absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it down.” The Berkeley College Republicans said its “constitutional right to free speech was silenced by criminals and thugs.” “Their success is a defeat for civilized society and the free exchange of ideas on college campuses across America,” it said in a statement.