A former East Bay college philosophy professor who was charged with four counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon, causing great bodily injury, has taken a deal resulting in three years of probation for an attack at a Berkeley protest last year, court records reveal.
Eric Clanton had been linked by police to violent assaults with a metal bike lock during a “free speech” rally in Berkeley on April 15, 2017. Before his arrest, Clanton had been “outed” online, on the website 4chan, as someone who used a bike lock to strike a man in the head. The assault was captured in a video clip (below) that drew widespread attention and anger after it was posted on YouTube.
…According to Alameda County Superior Court records, Clanton entered a “no contest” plea Wednesday to one misdemeanor battery charge. The felony charges against him were dismissed, and an allegation that he had caused serious bodily injury was stricken. A misdemeanor charge that Clanton wore a mask during the commission of the crime also was dropped.
Eric Clanton takes 3-year probation deal in Berkeley rally bike lock assault case
This is not a maybe case, not a “heat of the moment” case, not a “there was no real damage” case. This was a deliberate deadly force attack upon a non-aggressive person exercising his Freedom of Speech.
That all the major charges got dropped and he only gets probation and a misdemeanor is a sign for Antifa that they can legally get away with grave bodily harm and opening the doors to future deaths.
Next Berkeley rally is gonna get mighty interesting.
Hat Tip Sean S.
Disgusting. This is also in the article: “Police said, previously, that Clanton attacked at least three people with a metal U-lock during the April 15 rally in and around Civic Center Park. Court papers later revealed that Clanton struck at least seven people in the head, according to authorities. One person received a head laceration that required five staples to fix. Another was uninjured but had a piece of a helmet broken off. A third was struck across the neck and back, police wrote.”
There is justice, and there is vengeance. A civil society is supposed to have a legal system to provide the former so citizens will eschew the latter. When the legal system starts to fail a good fraction of the population…
One result is gangland violence. This sort of ruling breeds a different one: lynch mobs.
I’m sure there is a federal civil rights violation case that can still be brought, a la the Rodney King officers.
Just wait until the civil suits start rolling in.
Well, he did use an eco-friendly bike lock. Imagine the outrage if he had used a blackjack.
[…] Miguel did a post about Berkeley sending a message to Antifa that their violent antics will be tolerated with a minor slap on the […]
There is a reason why you don’t see those sorts of attacks here in Florida.
We are but one mag dump away from Civil War, part 2.