A 21-year-old UC Berkeley student activist named Ismael Chamu was arrested in late June in what has now escalated into a debacle thanks to Mayor Jesse Arreguin’s intervention in the matter.
Chamu’s arrest has raised issues about whether he was the target of racial profiling from Berkeley Police Department. Chamu, who was arrested with a switchblade knife in the area targeted by slashed tires and anarchist graffiti, has a history of making inflammatory statements about the police and has ties to the Antifa movement.
Following the outbreak of leftist violence in the city earlier this year, Mayor Arreguin was outed as a member on Facebook of the militant leftist organization called By Any Means Necessary. (The mayor has denied that he supports the group.) The organization, which has deep ties to pro-pedophilia advocates, has been linked to attempts to “brainwash” students into leftwing activism.
19 incoming student senators from UC Berkeley signed a statement declaring Chamu’s arrest as racial profiling–a move supported by the mayor, who asked the police chief to look into the issue.
According to Berkeleyside, Chamu says he was walking in the Frat Row area south of the UC Berkeley campus when police officers rushed him and a companion, handcuffing them and arresting them. On Facebook, Chamu claims he was “kidnapped by armed agents.”
“I was humiliated. I was traumatized. I still feel shock and pain and anger. I am just glad to be free. At Least [sic] feel the illusion of freedom,” he wrote in a now deleted post.
The Daily Californian notes that police arrested Chamu because he was in possession of a switchblade knife, but doesn’t offer much more detail. Berkeleyside’s detail of the arrest states that police were looking for burglary suspects, and Chamu and his friend matched the description provided to them within the area where a crime was reported.
Berkeley PD Chief Andrew Greenwood told the press that an officer saw Chamu duck behind a vehicle when he saw police approach, and appeared to set an object down. Police who apprehended him recovered an illegal weapon—a spring-loaded switchblade knife.
Berkeley police reported 30 instances of slashed tires and graffiti in the same area where Chamu was arrested.
“Multiple cars, and fences were spray painted with Anarchist symbols, painting out license plates and slogans such as, F$%# white people, Class Warfare sometime during the night,” wrote one resident on Nextdoor, per Berkeleyside.
Sources have informed The Daily Caller that Ismael Chamu has a history of posting inflammatory statements about the police and white people, with evidence of his social media activity.
“Dear Liberals, Hate me all y’all want God Bless Antifa #FuckTrump,” [sic] he wrote in a Tweet dated to April 15.
Chamu, who recently started working as a substitute teacher for West Contra Costa Schools in California, celebrated his new job on March 27 by saying it was “Time to Radicalize our Black and Brown youth and take a step forth towards becoming a Teacher and eventually a professor.” [sic]
On May 7, Chamu suggested that a good way to be productive on finals week was to “send all the white kids to the wrong room on Finals day.”
“Some Smash Amazon Store, Others send white kids to the wrong exam room #freespeech,” he wrote.
Given Mayor Arreguin’s involvement in the case and support for Chamu, it remains to be seen whether justice will be served.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter.
