Former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields reportedly came to the aid of an unidentified man who Shields said was jumped by masked attackers during the riotous scene on Wednesday night at UC-Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, Calif.
The riots erupted in response to the scheduled appearance of a controversial speaker, Milo Yiannopoulos, whose appearance at the university was later canceled due to the chaos.
“Amid an apparently organized violent attack and destruction of property at UC Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, the UC Police Department (UCPD) determined it was necessary to evacuate controversial speaker Milo Yiannopoulos from campus and to cancel his scheduled 8 p.m. event,” according to UC-Berkeley officials.
Shields reportedly came to the defense of a man that was being attacked by people that wore masks that hid their identities. Shields later said, “They attacked him for being a Trump supporter, no other reason.”
After protecting the man, Shields confronted some of the masked protesters, saying, “You guys have your faces covered. You’re attacking people. You are being (expletive) fascists. Look at you guys, you’re (expletive) embarrassing. It’s not okay.”
In a Twitter post about the incident, Shields indicated that police officers and other citizens watched as the attack unfolded. He indicated that several people were attacked, and that he was involved “in a few scuffles” during the riot.
Shields most recently fought under the World Series of Fighting banner, losing a five-round unanimous decision to Jon Fitch at WSOF 34 on New Year’s Even in New York. He is also a former UFC welterweight title contender.
