| Video of deliberate headbutt of innocent bystander falsely identified as a ‘Proud Boy’, whatever that is, can be seen at the link. Update as of the midnight rollover: It looks like Twitter pulled the video. God forbid there be actual evidence of leftwing brownshirts misbehaving. |
A Jewish man was attacked Saturday by left-wing protesters in Philadelphia who suspected him of being part of a small far-right rally, according to activists at the scene.
The man, identified only as "Zachary" after asking that his name be withheld, had wandered across a tiny conservative rally of some 30 activists and a counter-protest of several hundred left-wing activists across a police cordon in Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, site of the city’s iconic Liberty Bell and outside the building where the American Declaration of Independence was signed.
The far-right rally, dubbed the "We the People" gathering, was organized by the Proud Boys activist group. The rally was smaller than expected. As one counter-protester, New Yorker Michael Bartolone, who had traveled to Philadelphia to take part in the counter-protest, complained to the Washington Post, "I kind of wonder if they were just screwing with us, that they made some event to get other people to waste their day."
| What kind of idiot does that make you and your friends, Mr, Bartolone? |
According to local news outlet Billy Penn, it was in the middle of that tense standoff that 34-year-old Jewish resident Zachary was mistakenly identified by some counter-protesters as a Proud Boy, and was attacked by several people who were present.
"In numerous videos...[Zachary] can be seen shielding his face with his jacket as he tried to flee Independence Mall early this afternoon after being labelled a Nazi and a Proud Boy," Billy Penn reported.
The site quoted the Jewish man, a self-identified pacifist and organic produce salesman, as saying, "I was just an observer."
When he approached an activist apparently filming him, Zachary said, "People surrounded me, then bam-bam-bam, I was pushed, punched, swarmed. I just threw my jacket up over my face ‐ one as protection and two, I don’t want any more people to think I’m a Nazi! Then I look up and all I see is news cameras. The cops basically abandoned me. I’m looking for any car to jump into, and they’re asking, ’How do we know you’re a Jew?'"
Zachary eventually managed to get into a cab, Billy Penn reported, but not before one counter-protester head-butted him in an assault caught on camera. The assailant was one of four counter-protesters jugged
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
by police in an otherwise nonviolent standoff.
In an apparent reference to the attack, Boston resident Gregg Housh told the Washington Post, "I’ve only seen one guy get punched so far today. That’s because one of the alt-right guys got out of their pen and walked around to the other side, walked right into the middle and starting yelling Trump stuff at them."
| Billy Penn identifies the assailant as Domenick Regalbuto and retails uninteresting lefty protester claims of non-violent innocence, adding: |
Ezra, an organizer with The Fellow Worker Gritty Coalition who declined to give a last name, said the attacker ‐ who can be seen on video headbutting Zachary ‐ is not part of their group nor any other organizing group. It was their group that started the GoFundMe, they said.
Four people were tossed in the calaboose
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
throughout the day, police officials said.
Regalbuto was arrested after the incident and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, he said. He was released hours later.
Reached for comment shortly after the gathering dispersed, Ezra and other left-wing organizers in Philadelphia who claimed knowledge of the attackers vowed to start a crowdfunding campaign for Zachary "to support them in their recovery and in a show of unified solidarity against fascism
...a political system developed in Italy, symbolized by the Roman fasces-- thin reeds, each flimsy in itself but unbreakable when bound into a bundle. Its distinguishing philosophical feature is the Corporate State. The word is nowadays thrown around by all sorts of people who have no idea what they're talking about...
," according to the campaign.
"Not everybody who assaulted this Jewish man are people who we support," Ezra added. "As a community, we are raising money to help the person who was attacked ‐ because obviously they’re not a Proud Boy. We want to support anybody who isn’t associated with right-wing activities. As a group of left-wing organizers, there many of us who are Jewish and we support those people in our community."
| That’s all very well, Ezra dear, but given that Zachary’s real name and contact information are unknown, how do you plan to get the vast sums you raise to him? |