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Liberal students condemn, trash Kate Steinle vigil setup by UC-Berkeley College Republicans
A vigil setup for Kate Steinle by the College Republicans at UC-Berkeley was trashed last week. The group, Refuse Fascism, allegedly was responsible for the trashing. A group member condemned the College Republicans and accused them of politicizing Steinle's death. (Image source: Fox News screenshot)

Liberal students condemn, trash Kate Steinle vigil setup by UC-Berkeley College Republicans

Students at UC-Berkeley vandalized and trashed a memorial for Kate Steinle last week, ripping a poster of the murdered woman and trashing it.

What happened?

Last Thursday night, UC-Berkeley College Republicans held a vigil for Steinle, whose 2015 murder brought the issue of sanctuary cities to the national spotlight. Steinle was shot by an illegal immigrant while walking with her father and a friend along Pier 14 in San Francisco.

The students laid down flowers, spelled out Steinle’s name in candles and had a large poster of her smiling face. The students told the Daily Californian they held the vigil in light of Steinle’s killer, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, being acquitted of murder on Nov. 30. About 20 people attended the vigil.

While the vigil was ongoing, UC-Berkeley CR Vice President Naweed Tahmas told The College Fix, protesters showed up.

"They were shouting during my remarks, and throughout the vigil. Before, during and after,” he explained. “I couldn’t make out everything they were shouting, but it’s usually: ‘In the name of humanity, we refuse to accept a fascist regime.’"

To add insult to injury, the next morning, a member of the Republican group found the large poster of Steinle ripped and trashed.

What did the group say about the vandalism?

"This is typical at UC Berkeley, where honoring the legacy of someone who was killed by a 7-time felon and 5-time deportee is offensive," the group posted on its Facebook page, along with photos of the vandalized poster.

Another UC-Berkley CR leader, Matt Roannau, told KNTV-TV what happened to the vigil was "very disrespectful."

"Regardless of what your political views are, I don’t think that’s appropriate," he said.

Meanwhile, Tahmas said intolerant liberal students won't break his group's spirit.

"The left’s ideological monopoly on campus is under threat and they are lashing out,” he told The College Fix. "They want to frustrate us and exhaust our spirit, but their intimidation tactics will not stop us. Our organization will continue to bring to light the issues that the left is trying to censor on campus."

Who was responsible for the vandalism?

According to a member of the Republican group who spoke to Fox News, a group called "Refuse Fascism" was responsible.

"An Antifa organization, Refuse Fascism, sent a paid activist to basically desecrate the memorial, to interrupt it, call us fascists, bigots, whatever," Troy Worden told Fox News. "Our message of honoring Kate was totally lost."

Unfortunately, he said it wasn't the first time the Republican group had been a target.

"This isn’t unique ... a few days before the vigil we had actually put up at night posters with Kate’s face on them that said, ‘she had dreams too’ and unfortunately, those were taken down too," he said.

What did Refuse Fascism say?

A member of the group, Raphael Kadaris, condemned the College Republicans and accused them of politicizing Steinle's death.

He told the Daily Californian: "These people don’t care about Kate Steinle. They are using the tragic death of Kate Steinle to incite hatred and bigotry against immigrants."

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