5 arrested at rally against Ann Coulter speech in Berkeley

BERKELEY >> A person was injured and five people were arrested during a demonstration by hundreds of people outside a University of California, Berkeley, auditorium where conservative commentator Ann Coulter gave a speech, an official said Thursday.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 demonstrators chanted slogans outside the event. Some harassed people trying to enter the building, yelling at them and pushing them.

A person who had a ticket to the event was injured after getting in a scuffle with a protester and taken to a hospital to be checked as a precautionary measure, said Dan Mogulof, a spokesman for the university.

“We don’t believe the injuries were serious,” he said.

UC Berkeley police arrested three people for not following officers’ orders and one for battery on an officer, Mogulof said. He said he did not know what the fifth protester was arrested for.

Police said several of those arrested were wearing masks, and Mogulof said officials don’t believe they are students.