Students Charged in Michigan and Utah for Assaulting Conservatives on Campus

The political violence on campuses continued this week, with students at the University of Michigan and the University of Utah charged with criminal assaults on conservatives. For years, some of us have written about the increasingly radical environment in higher education where faculty have gradually eliminated conservatives and libertarians from departments.

At the University of Utah, Amber Grace was charged with misdemeanor assault and property damage. The College Fix reports that Grace allegedly assaulted a member of the College Republicans at the University of Utah. A video shows the transgender student threatening Republican students over a whiteboard poll that asked if there are only two genders.

During the confrontation, the Republican students ask, “Do you believe we should have the right to freedom of speech?”

Amber Grace responds, “No, I think Republicans should be shot in the streets, personally.”

That is followed by Grace tackling the Republican student and the College Republicans also posted a photo of the aftermath of the attack, showing the assaulted member with a ripped shirt.

Grace is facing two Class B misdemeanor citations– for simple assault and property damage.”

At the University of Michigan, Temulun Togochog was shown on video attacking a pro-Israel speaker. After yelling at the woman, Togochog allegedly smacked Joe Redden with her phone, then attacked Jewish conservative activist Liz Benichou, pushing her to the ground.

Togochog then resisted arrest and hit officers. While being handcuffed and led away, she is heard yelling, “I should have f***ing killed you when I had the f***ing chance.”

She is now charged with one count of assaulting an officer and two counts of assault and battery under a pending felony warrant.

These cases are only the latest in a long line of incidents of political violence, largely from the left on our campus. This is the product of a radicalized environment, including faculty who are part of what I have called the “radical chic.”

Radical faculty members on the left are common across the country, and many espouse the same hate-filled and violent rhetoric.

Professors have regularly advocated “detonating white people,” denouncing police, calling for Republicans to suffer,  strangling police officers, celebrating the death of conservatives, calling for the killing of Trump supporters, supporting the murder of conservative protesters, and making other outrageous statements. A San Diego University professor celebrated the death of an Israeli soldier who was eaten by a shark.

Such rhetoric creates a sense of license in those inclined toward violence, particularly those who are mentally unstable.

Obviously, these students should be suspended. However, there is a deeper issue in the environment in higher education that has fostered such political violence.

Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”

3 thoughts on “Students Charged in Michigan and Utah for Assaulting Conservatives on Campus”

Leave a Reply