He seemed sincere and insisted I take a cookie. He said he thought these protests needed more love and sweetness. Later, I saw a video of the same man hitting a bystander in the back of the head with a bike lock, resulting in a serious injury.Īs Andy was making the report, this man above walked up and offered cookies he had baked. They said they could not safely go in to the park but would take copies of my photos for the report. I asked the police to arrest the person, as I could identify him if they came with me at the time. Andy had to walk out of the park to clean up and so he could make a police report. It is scary because it is unexpected, people cheer and laugh, and no one knows what is in the liquid thrown on them. I was then blocked repeatedly byAantifa as I was trying to get a good shot of the attacker. I gave chase, and when he saw I was coming after him with my camera, he ran. Shortly after this picture was taken, Andy was assaulted for the first time.Ī tall man wearing medic clothing and a medic backpack walked up in between us and threw a milkshake on Andy. Sometimes they are silent, and other times they are aggressive or mocking, whatever seems to rattle you the most. I am not easily intimidated in these settings, and neither is Andy, but it is unnerving to have people so close to you covered head to toe in black and knowing it isn’t possible to identify them if they do commit a crime. The above is the typical proximity of the Antifa crowding. Both have given Antifa very favorable coverage compared to their coverage of the opposing groups of Patriot Prayer, Proud Boys, and Haley Adams. They were determined to block and harass him at every turn.įor some reason they don’t bother Katie Shepherd of the Willamette Week or Jason Wilson of The Guardian. The picture above is a perfect example, if fairly tame, of how Antifa would block and crowd Andy while he was filming and reporting. I don’t know what he was going to take out of his fanny pack, but it wasn’t a milkshake. I gave chase to try and get a better picture, but was blocked by people to keep me from doing so. He immediately swerved away and took off at a jog. I saw him reach into his fanny pack as he got close to Andy. This guy above walked up to Andy from behind, not realizing I was watching him and taking pictures of the scene. People also taunted him and us and waved signs in his face. Frequently Black Bloc, the more militant wing of Antifa, would come up to physically block him from filming by surrounding him very closely. Several people were drinking their shakes.Īs Andy was walking around Lonsdale Square, he was recording with his GoPro video camera and narrating the scene. It is possible someone was picking up a single shake, walking off with it, then adding cement mix, but there have been no official confirmations of this. I am skeptical of the story going around that said they were adding quick-setting concrete mix to the milkshakes. The people serving the milkshakes were also making them in the square. While walking into Lonsdale Square, I could see people handing out free milkshakes, complete with the Antifa symbol on the cups. We met up on the edge of the park, where Antifa had planned their counter protest. He expressed concern about Antifa targeting him, and asked if I would be there to be a witness and document what happened. I think he is what a journalist should be.Īndy and I planned to go together to this rally and counter protest set for June 29th. He also takes his work seriously and strives to be fair in his coverage. His mind is quick, he is funny and sweet. He has such a lovely way of asking questions and getting people to talk in conversation. His intellect and curiosity about people. While I don’t know Andy very well, I feel like I know him enough to speak about his character and professionalism. We have gone to a few things together and spent enough time in the car to have those conversations you wouldn’t normally have just hanging out. We both live or have lived in Portland and both of us have had experience with Antifa.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |