Billionaire Investor Peter Thiel Chased Off Stage By Angry Protestors At UC Berkeley
Dec 11, 2014, 12:06 IST
Getty / Chip SomodevillaPeter Thiel was chased off stage during his speech at UC Berkeley on Wednesday.A bunch of angry protestors stormed through the doors during Peter Thiel's speech at UC Berkeley, ultimately shutting down the lecture half way through the event.
On Wednesday evening, Thiel spoke at an event hosted by the Berkeley Forum, a student organization at UC Berkeley.
But about 20 minutes into the event, protestors came banging on the doors, interrupting the speech multiple times. There was a sense of panic overtaking the surprised audience, but Thiel went on and continued through the Q&A.
At around 7:30 PM PST, the sound of protests and door-banging only got louder. The entire crowd at Wheeler Hall turned eerily silent - only until one male student suddenly rose up and yelled at Thiel.
"F-k you!" the guy shouted at Thiel, as he walked out of the hall.
After a few seconds of silence, Thiel, in his quiet calm voice, said, "This is really a classic Berkeley event today - this is so cool!"
Although Thiel insisted on going on with the Q&A, the protests got really loud. Moments later, the doors finally gave in and protestors took over the stage.
The protesters held signs of "Ferguson" and "Black lives matter." Some shouted, "NSA's got to go!"
The crowd booed the protestors and shouted "Peter Thiel matters!"
By then, Thiel was already gone.
Protests in Berkeley and nearby Oakland have been going on since November 24, when a grand jury decided not to indict the police officer who killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, in Ferguson, Mo. They picked up again a few days ago after a similar decision not to indict the NYPD officer who killed Eric Garner. According to InsideBayArea, today's protest started at Berkeley High School at around 2:30 PM.
Here are some photos from the event:Eugene Kim Eugene Kim