University of California, Berkeley: Student Group Forced to Shut Down Event After Ten Minute Disruption

On May 1, 2026, the Berkeley Forum student group and the College of Engineering hosted an event featuring Google Chief Scientist Jeffery Dean. The event was disrupted for about ten minutes by individuals who wanted to criticize “the use of Gemini AI in the genocide in Gaza.” One disruptor mounted the stage with a microphone and led others in a chant to drown out Dean’s remarks. The disruptors refused to leave despite repeatedly being asked. UC police and campus security allegedly told event organizers that, due to free speech concerns, nothing could be done to prevent the disruptors from entering the event and that they could not intervene unless the disruption turned violent. FIRE wrote UC Berkeley on May 18, explaining that the university is obligated to stop disruptions in order to protect the speaker and the audience’s expressive rights—otherwise, it allows an impermissible “heckler’s veto.” We urged the university to educate its officials on the distinction between protected expression and protest versus disruptive conduct that prevents others from exercising their own freedom of speech. UC Berkeley responded on May 22, condemning the incident as a clear violation of its “Time, Place, and Manner” rules and telling FIRE it is conducting a review of the incident to determine if any protocols need to be modified.