A former Diablo Valley College philosophy professor has taken a plea deal resulting in three years of probation for attacking Trump supporters with a bike lock, Berkeleyside reported Wednesday.
Eric Clanton was previously charged with four counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon, causing great bodily injury after he assaulted several conservative demonstrators at the so-called “Battle of Berkeley” last year.
Clanton was identified by 4chan sleuths as the antifa goon who committed the violent assaults during what was dubbed a “free speech” rally in Berkeley on April 15, 2017.
This brutal sucker punch was captured in a video clip that went viral.
Clanton was supposed to have a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, but there was no hearing.
Instead, the violent antifa thug got a sweetheart deal that the media only found out about after it became available online.
According to Alameda County Superior Court records, Clanton entered a “no contest” plea Wednesday to one misdemeanor battery charge. The felony charges against him were dismissed, and an allegation that he had caused serious bodily injury was stricken. A misdemeanor charge that Clanton wore a mask during the commission of the crime also was dropped.
https://twitter.com/XtremeLeftWatch/status/1027288917001887744
He could have killed someone that day.
Berkeley police said Clanton bashed at least seven people in the head that day, seriously injuring three. The individual in the above video received a head laceration that required five staples to fix.
And yet he ends up with only a minor misdemeanor battery charge with no jail time? Like he just threw water on someone?
It was not for lack of evidence. The police had him dead to rights, according to Berkeleyside:
Police wrote that they had found evidence last year during a search of Clanton’s home in San Leandro linking him to “Anti-Fascists and Anarchy political groups,” according to court papers. He was not home when police arrived, so officers moved to a second address in West Oakland where they said they found flags, patches and pamphlets “associating Clanton” with antifa and anarchist groups. Investigators arrested Clanton there.
Detectives said they “recovered U-locks, sunglasses, a glove, jeans, and facial coverings” consistent with items worn during the April 15 assaults, according to court documents. And a camera found at the San Leandro home contained “selfies” taken by Clanton, police said, “with him wearing black clothing and facial coverings” consistent with April 15.
Police said in court documents that Clanton’s phone records placed him near Civic Center Park during the time of the protest assaults, too.
Police wrote that other photos they found showed Clanton “posing next to Anarchy symbols.” An “Iron Front” tattoo on his bicep, photographed while he was being logged into jail, “is associated with Anti-Fascists,” too, according to court papers.
Police said Clanton even tried to discuss the April 15 assaults with staff at Diablo Valley College and he “never stated he wanted to proclaim his innocence.”
According to court papers, Clanton “immediately invoked his rights to an attorney” and declined to be interviewed by police when he was arrested last year.
Clanton began his three years of probation on Wednesday. And that’s not much of a deterrent for the next antifa goon who wants to bludgeon someone in the head.
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