President Donald Trump at a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday for the swearing-in ceremony of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to pull federal funding from the University of California at Berkeley after the campus experienced violent protests over a planned speech from conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. 
 
 "If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?" Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday morning. 
 
 Berkeley is the flagship campus of the public University of California system. UC Berkeley received $370 million in federal research funding in 2015-2016, according to the university's website. 
 
 Yiannopoulos, an editor at the far-right website Breitbart News whom many identify with the alt-right, a white-nationalist movement, was set to appear as part of a book tour. 
 
 The event was canceled after demonstrators threw smoke bombs and flares, The Associated Press and local media reported. 
 
 UC Berkeley, notably, is considered the home of the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. 
 
 Protesters watching a bonfire Wednesday night on Sproul Plaza during a rally against the scheduled speaking appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos on the University of California at Berkeley campus. AP Photo/Ben Margot 
 
 UC Berkeley issued this statement on the protests: "Amid violence, destruction of property and out of concern for public safety, the University of California Police Department determined that it was necessary to remove Milo Yiannopoulos from the campus and to cancel tonight's scheduled 8 p.m. performance. "The decision was made at about 6 p.m., two hours before the event, and officers read several dispersal announcements to the crowd of more than 1,500 protesters that had gathered outside of the Martin Luther King, Jr. ASUC venue. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms the violence and unlawful behavior that was on display and deeply regret that those tactics will now overshadow the efforts to engage in legitimate and lawful protest against the performer's presence and perspectives." 
 
 Bryan Logan contributed reporting to this story. 
 
 Editor's note: Milo Yiannopoulos has previously authored columns published by Business Insider. ||||| A bonfire set by demonstrators protesting a scheduled speaking appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos burns on Sproul Plaza on the University of California at Berkeley campus on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif. The event was canceled out of safety concerns after protesters hurled smoke bombs, broke windows and started a bonfire. | AP Trump threatens to pull U.C. Berkeley funding after protests against Milo Yiannopoulos turn violent 
 
 President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw federal funding from the University of California at Berkeley over its decision to cancel an event at which Breitbart News writer Milo Yiannopoulos, known for his provocative and often misogynistic stances, was scheduled to speak. 
 
 “If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?” Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday morning. 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 The university opted to cancel Yiannopoulos’ speech roughly two hours before it was set to begin after a protest against his presence on the campus turned violent, CNN reported. The school blamed “150 masked agitators” with igniting the violence, which included Molotov cocktails and fireworks launched at police. Protesters also threw rocks at officers and smashed windows at the U.C. student center, where Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak. 
 
 Pulling funding is a threat that Trump has brandished regularly, both as a candidate and since being inaugurated as president. Perhaps most prominently, he has pledged to withdraw federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities, which do not turn over undocumented immigrants to the federal government for deportation. 
 
 Yiannopoulos’ speeches are often met by protests. His stories are among the most provocative on Breitbart, with headlines including “Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy,” “Science proves it: Fat-shaming works” and “Gay rights have made us dumber, it's time to get back in the closet.” 
 
 Brietbart is an alt-right news website that has expressed white nationalist sympathies. 
 
 Last month, a man was shot at a campus demonstration opposing a Yiannopoulos speaking engagement at the University of Washington. 
 
 At least some portion of Trump’s success as a candidate is owed to the alt-right movement to which he regularly played on the campaign trail. Breitbart has been a frequent publisher of flattering stories regarding the president, and the website’s former head, Steve Bannon, is the Trump administration’s chief strategist and senior counselor. ||||| Berkeley, California (CNN) Protests that erupted at UC Berkeley ahead of a planned Wednesday appearance by right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos caused $100,000 worth of damage to the campus, the school said Thursday. 
 
 The university blamed "150 masked agitators" for the unrest, saying they had come to campus to disturb an otherwise peaceful protest. 
 
 Two Berkeley College Republicans "were attacked while conducting an interview" on the campus on Thursday, UC Berkeley also said in a prepared statement. The attackers, who were not affiliated with the university, were taken into custody by UC Berkeley police. 
 
 Administrators decided to cancel the Wednesday event about two hours before the Breitbart editor's speech. UC Berkeley said it removed him from campus "amid the violence and destruction of property and out of concern for public safety." 
 
 Black-clad protesters wearing masks threw commercial-grade fireworks and rocks at police. Some even hurled Molotov cocktails that ignited fires. They also smashed windows of the student union center on the Berkeley campus where the Yiannopoulos event was to be held. 
 
 At least six people were injured. Some were attacked by the agitators -- who are a part of an anarchist group known as the "Black Bloc" that has been causing problems in Oakland for years, said Dan Mogulof, UC Berkeley spokesman. 
 
 Protests erupt at UC Berkeley over a scheduled speech by Breitbart writer #MiloYiannopoulos. (video by @taka_the_brave) A video posted by CNN (@cnn) on Feb 1, 2017 at 6:56pm PST 
 
 More than 1,500 protesters had gathered at Sproul Plaza, chanting and holding signs that read: "No safe space for racists" and "This is war." 
 
 She was able to respond that she was OK after the attack. The violent protesters tore down metal barriers, set fires near the campus bookstore and damaged the construction site of a new dorm. One woman wearing a red Trump hat was pepper sprayed in the face while being interviewed by CNN affiliate KGO She was able to respond that she was OK after theattack. 
 
 As the scene spiraled out of control, university police warned protesters to disperse and issued a lockdown for campus buildings. 
 
 Multiple dispersal orders have been given for the Milo protest. Please leave campus or avoid the area. @UCBerkeley #miloatcal — UC Police, Berkeley (@UCPD_Cal) February 2, 2017 
 
 "We condemn in the strongest possible terms the violence and unlawful behavior that was on display and deeply regret that those tactics will now overshadow the efforts to engage in legitimate and lawful protest against the performer's presence and perspectives," UC Berkeley said in a statement. 
 
 "While Yiannopoulos' views, tactics and rhetoric are profoundly contrary to our own, we are bound by the Constitution, the law, our values and the campus's Principles of Community to enable free expression across the full spectrum of opinion and perspective," it stated. 
 
 As police dispersed the crowd from campus, a remaining group of protesters moved into downtown Berkeley and smashed windows at several local banks. 
 
 No arrests were made throughout the night. 
 
 Yiannopoulos on college speaking tour 
 
 JUST WATCHED 'I just want to burn it down' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 'I just want to burn it down' 09:10 
 
 Yiannopoulos had been invited to speak by the Berkeley College Republicans. He has been on a college speaking tour and had planned to speak about cultural appropriation on Wednesday. 
 
 In a Facebook Live video, Yiannopoulos described what happened as "an expression of political violence." 
 
 "I'm just stunned that hundreds of people ... were so threatened by the idea that a conservative speaker might be persuasive, interesting, funny and might take some people with him, they have to shut it down at all costs." 
 
 President Donald Trump weighed in on Twitter, suggesting the possibility of cutting federal funds to the public university. 
 
 "If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view -- NO FEDERAL FUNDS?" Trump tweeted Thursday morning. 
 
 If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017 
 
 Later, Yiannopoulos posted Trump's tweet to Facebook and proclaimed himself "the catalyst for this change." 
 
 "American universities are on notice. The President is watching," he wrote. "The days you could silence conservative and libertarian voices on campus and still expect to collect their tax money are coming to an end." 
 
 But some protesters said the Yiannopoulos event wasn't a matter of free speech, because he espouses hate speech. 
 
 UC Berkeley said it had prepared security measures following what had happened at Yiannopoulos' previous events. One of his planned speaking engagements at UC Davis was also canceled last month in response to protests. 
 
 "Ultimately, and unfortunately, however, it was impossible to maintain order given the level of threat, disruption and organized violence," UC Berkeley said in a statement. 
 
 Controversial speech 
 
 Most UC Berkeley students who spoke with CNN said they were relieved that Yiannopoulos wasn't able to speak, but this was not how they wanted to accomplish that goal. 
 
 One student told CNN that he didn't agree with what happened. 
 
 "It's a sad irony in the fact that the Free Speech Movement was founded here and tonight, someone's free speech got shut down. It might have been hateful speech, but it's still his right to speak," said Shivam Patel, a freshmen who stood outside of Sproul Plaza. 
 
 The Free Speech Movement started at UC Berkeley in 1964 after students protested en masse when administrators tried to restrict their political activities on campus. 
 
 Patel said he supported peaceful protests, but disagreed with the way things turned out on Wednesday. 
 
 "It allows people on the right to say, 'Look at all these liberal Berkeley snowflakes. They're intolerant of speech.' I don't think it's productive at all. It does nothing to help this country."
– The UC Berkeley campus erupted in anger Wednesday night during a protest that turned violent against a scheduled speech by far-right Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos (the speech ended up being canceled). President Trump weighed in on the incident on Twitter, per the Hill, and it was clear from his message which side he planted his feet on. "If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?" he tweeted early Thursday. Per Business Insider, the school received $370 million in research funding from the government in fiscal year 2015-16, according to the school's own stats. Politico notes that Trump has also threatened to pull federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities for immigrants.