If you listen to CNN, you might come away with the conclusion that the riot that took place at UC Berkeley on Wednesday night was just one big right-wing conspiracy.
Berkeley professor and former Clinton cabinet member Robert Reich appeared on CNN Thursday and peddled what he admitted were “rumors” involving the motive and alliance of the agitators who caused $100,000 in damage to the campus in an effort to silence Milo Yiannopoulos.
Host Don Lemon asked Reich if the riots “play right into the hands of the white supremacists and someone like Milo Yiannopoulos,” and Reich, of course, agreed.
“I was there for part of last night,” Reich said. “I know what I saw and those people were not Berkeley students.
“Those were outsiders, agitators. I’ve never seen them before. There’s rumors they were actually right-wingers,” he said.
“They were part of a group that were organized and ready to create the kind of tumult and danger you saw that forced the police to cancel the event.”
Reich went on to defend the free speech record of the school.
“Berkeley opened its biggest auditorium to this right-wing Breitbart News character, this hateful, odious person.”
He continued, “These outsiders who caused the police to have to come in and finally cancel it.”
Lemon questioned, “Do you think this is a strategy by Yiannopoulos or right-wingers to put this on so they could — in an effort to show there is no free speech on a college campus like UC Berkeley?”
RELATED: VIDEO: Trump supporters attacked outside Berkeley Milo speech
“I wouldn’t bet against it,” Reich responded. “I saw these people. They were very — they all looked almost paramilitary.
“They were not from the campus and I’ve heard — I don’t want to say factually — but I’ve heard there was some relationship there between these people and the right wing and the right wing movement that is affiliated with Breitbart News,” Reich said.
He provided no evidence to back up his claim and Lemon didn’t ask for any.
The facts, however, appear to belie Reich’s “rumors.”
Occupy Oakland tweeted pictures of its involvement, claiming “We won this night.”
https://twitter.com/OccupyOakland/status/827007309922476032
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