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Arrests at UC Berkeley as protesters oppose Ben Shapiro speech 9 arrested in UC Berkeley clashes over speech by Breitbart ex-editor
(about 9 hours later)
3 protesters have already been arrested at the University of California, Berkeley for spitting on officers and carrying signs deemed too large. Police are looking to avoid violence by setting up checkpoints and metal detectors across campus. At least nine people have been arrested as pro- and- counter-protests rocked the campus of the liberal University of California at Berkeley as it hosted conservative speaker, former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro, police said.
READ MORE: ‘Godzilla coming to town’: Berkeley braces for violence ahead of conservative’s speechREAD MORE: ‘Godzilla coming to town’: Berkeley braces for violence ahead of conservative’s speech
Before Shapiro arrived, the Berkeley Police Department confirmed a total of three protesters were arrested for carrying a banned weapon in a restricted zone set up by police. Ben Shapiro, the founder and the editor-in-chief of the conservative website the Daily Wire, was delivering his speech inside Zellerbach Hall at the campus on Thursday night, the university said in a statement. Some 600-700 people attended the event. 
Police confirmed Hannah Benjamin, 20, was arrested for Battery on a police officer and carrying a banned weapon. In the meantime, about 1,000 people opposed to Shapiro speaking gathered outside the campus, holdings signs saying “Students Against Fascism and War”. Some were chanting “No Trump, no KKK [Ku Klux Klan], no fascist USA,” according to AP.
She was allegedly arrested for spitting on a police officer, according to KTVU.
Police also confirmed Sarah Roark, 44, was arrested for carrying a banned weapon in the restricted zone. Shapiro, meanwhile, is not a supporter of US President Donald Trump. Not only has he never endorsed Trump, he has often criticized the president. In March 2016, Shapiro resigned from Breitbart News citing the outlet’s reporting on the Trump campaign.
She was arrested by several police officers who said her sign was too large. The Berkeley Police Department released a list of prohibited items Thursday, which included any signs over 30 inches. The crowds were relatively calm until the Zellerbach event ended and a woman, “not affiliated with the university climbed over a barricade on Upper Sproul Plaza,” the university said in a statement. 
As police escorted her to a vehicle, several protesters began chanting “let her go!” On Friday morning, police said that at least nine people were arrested “as part of efforts to manage demonstrations and counter-demonstrations at and near” the Berkeley campus.
While police arrested the woman for her sign, a protester was heard yelling on a makeshift amplifier. The police told protesters that amplified sound is not allowed, but the protesters continued. “For the most part it was an orderly event, attended by respectful orderly people,” UC Police Chief Margo Bennett said, as cited by AP, “The crowd in the street was loud, but not violent.”
“They are citing some bull**** code about these signs. This is nonsense, ya'll,” Antifa Watch tweeted. Students’ opinions divided over the speech of the conservative politician in the liberal university.
Police have also prohibited backpacks, water bottles, frozen fruits, selfie sticks, batteries, tripods, laser pointers, liquid and even balloons.
Hundreds of police officers in riot gear were on campus as protesters arrived.
There were even armored vehicles and a bomb squad unit was also spotted before the event.
Shapiro came on stage to thunderous applause from the audience.
He began by thanking the police for protecting the event and thanking his audience for “braving the idiots outside.” He also thanked the protesters for erecting a sign that read “we don’t support your white supremacist bull***” Maurice Ang, a junior opposing the event, saying that Berkeley shouldn’t “host any controversial speakers, on either side.”
“I also say no to your white supremacist bullshit and if you stick around long enough in this speech, you will hear me do exactly that,” Shapiro said “the problem is, I also say no to your identity politics bull****.” “I like the way Ben Shapiro talks,” another student, Trinidad Arceo, said, adding that police presence at the event was “overkill.”
During Shapiro’s speech, the Berkeley Police Department said they were monitoring “a large group” marching down Bancroft Way, and said anyone travelling through should expect traffic delays. Xochitl Johnson, an organizer of Refuse Fascism group protesting Shapiro's speech, criticized the university authorities for deploying police.
Berkeleyside, which estimated that the crowd was between 500 and 600, said that the crowd quickly grew to around 1,500 protesters. “This university has a responsibility to stand up [against fascism] an intellectual center,” she said in an emotional speech to the protesters outside the campus.
Police attempted to enter the MLK center to remove students who were protesting at a sit-in, according to the Berkeleyside. 
Protesters began chanting “f**k the police” before officers gave up.
Police have reportedly arrested a fourth protester for having a wooden stick in his backpack. The whole event cost the campus some $600,000, according to UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Dan Mogulof.
Between September 24 and 27, other conservative figures are expected to speak at Berkeley, including Steve Bannon, an executive chair at Breitbart News, who worked as Trump’s chief strategist, as well as authors Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter.
READ MORE: Police gear up for Berkley unrest despite cancelled Ann Coulter speech
The University of Berkeley had previously come under criticism for canceling events with Yiannopoulos and Coulter after protests earlier this year. 
In April this year, clashes broke out between hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters at rallies in Berkley, as supporters and opponents of Trump squared off.
In February, rioting broke out at the UC Berkeley campus before a scheduled appearance by then-Breibart News Editor Milo Yiannopoulos, which had to be canceled after protesters threw rocks, broke windows and set fires outside the student union building.