Rob Schneider, watchdog group sue UC Berkeley on allegation stonewalling probe into violent TPUSA event ambush
EXCLUSIVE — Comedian Rob Schneider and the Center for American Liberty have filed a lawsuit against the University of California-Berkeley, alleging the university failed to release public records related to a controversial campus event held weeks after the death of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County, claims Berkeley officials ignored months of requests for internal communications about a November 2025 Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event at which Schneider spoke. The group says the university has called the delay a clerical error, but Schneider said the lack of response suggests something more serious.
"I want complete transparency since they get federal dollars. We have a right to know as United States, California taxpayers and federal taxpayers," Schneider told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "So now we look forward to the discovery process and finding out what the regents at Cal Berkeley knew, when they knew it."
Last year’s event was part of TPUSA’s "This Is the Turning Point Tour" and came just two months after the group’s founder, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed at Utah Valley University.
Agitators gathered outside the event where Schneider, along with Christian author Dr. Frank Turek, was speaking inside. Amid the crowds, physical altercations broke out, with photos showing some attendees bloodied. Schneider alleged the university failed to provide adequate security.
"I think Cal Berkeley will be very embarrassed if they knowingly allowed Antifa protesters to prevent people [from hearing] someone’s free speech, especially a comedian," Schneider said.
He said his team believes the university interfered with attendance, claiming some ticket holders were told the day of the event that their tickets were no longer valid.
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"500 tickets were forced to be given to an organization on campus, for the sole purpose of making sure that 500 people could not attend," Schneider said. "I want to know what they knew."
Turek called the event a "sad spectacle" at a university known for free speech. He added that Kirk had originally been scheduled to appear with them before his death.
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The Center for American Liberty claims UC Berkeley violated the California Public Records Act (CPRA) by failing to produce documents in response to its January 2026 request. The request sought security plans, internal emails, bodycam footage and reports on the disruptions.
The lawsuit calls for a writ of mandate ordering Berkeley to search for and turn over relevant records and injunctive relief that will force compliance.
The UC Berkeley Police Department confirmed several arrests the night of the protests, including on charges of trespassing and resisting or obstructing an officer. Authorities also reported injuries, including a man who was bloodied in a fight and another who suffered head lacerations after being struck with a glass object.
After the event, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon announced the Department of Justice would be investigating, writing on X: "@CivilRights will investigate what happened here, and I see several issues of serious concern regarding campus and local security and Antifa’s ability to operate with impunity in [California]."
Fox News Digital has reached out to UC Berkeley for comment but did not immediately hear back.