Eric Clanton charged with four counts of assault with deadly weapon
Berkeleyside: Eric Clanton, a former East Bay community college philosophy professor linked online to violent assaults with a metal bike lock during a “free speech” rally in Berkeley on April 15, was charged Friday afternoon with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, with the special allegation of causing great bodily injury to Sean Stiles. Additionally, the charges include the misdemeanor offense of wearing a mask to evade identification. If convicted, Clanton could be sent to prison.
Clanton, 28, of Oakland appeared alongside his attorney, Dan Siegel, in Alameda County Superior Court before Judge Thomas Nixon in Department 112. Siegel, who has been active for decades in East Bay social justice circles, rose to fame in the 1960s as a student activist at UC Berkeley during clashes with authorities.