Elon Musk defends Charlie Kirk as student protest blocks university visit

Protests erupted at the University of California Davis when Turning Point USA founder and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk visited the campus, prompting Twitter CEO Elon Musk to agree with the provacatuer that the response was “not peaceful.”

Mr Kirk visited the campus on Tuesday night and was met by student protesters and individuals dressed in black claiming to be Antifa outside the college venue.

Police arrested two protesters in the fray.

The visit was already stirring controversy in the days leading up to his arrival; the Sacramento Bee published an opinion piece in which the author called Mr Kirk a "fascist" and said he had called for the lynching of trans people, which is an allegation Mr Kirk has strongly denied.

During an episode of "The Charlie Kirk Show" on Real America's Voice, a right-wing cable entertainment network, Mr Kirk was discussing trans athletes competing in events that match the genders with which they identify. He said that someone should have "dealt with" a trans athlete trying to compete "the way we used to take care of things 50's and 60's."

Last year, during his "Save America Tour," Mr Kirk made similar comments, saying his "patience has run thin" when it comes to trans athletes participating in sports that match their gender, and challenged men to stop them from competing.

"You need to intervene. You need to show up to the sporting event and be like this is not happening actually. You're not competing against my daughter," he said. "She has XX chromosomes, you have XY chromosomes, get off the court, get out of the pool. It's not going to happen anymore."

The Sacramento Bee eventually pulled the claim and issued an editors note explaining the correction and adding Mr Kirk's denial.

The chancellor at UC Davis released a statement saying that TPUSA had a right to invite speakers to campus, but said the university "stands with our transgender and non-binary Aggies in opposition to this hateful and divisive messaging.”

Mr Kirk's appearance drew hundreds of protesters, which in turn drew a large police presence to the campus.

The groups battled against each other, with some throwing eggs and and breaking windows at the school. Others attempted to block an entrance to the school to stop the event.

UC Davis released a statement after the event saying one police officer was injured in the attack, according to Mediaite.

Mr Kirk shared a video of the protest from inside the building, where police officers can be seen trying to keep protesters out. One broke a window. Twitter CEO Elon Musk commented on the video, saying it was "not a peaceful protest at all."

Far-right speakers have frequently used highly contested college campus visits as a way to stir controversy and recruit new members. Candace Owens joined Mr Kirk in a campus tour, and Ben Shapiro rose to prominence with YouTube videos showing himself debating with liberal college students.