Police temporarily “detained” Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson in Berkeley, CA., Sunday after he was “chased by a mob who took swings at him and pepper sprayed him,” KCRA reported.
The organizer of yesterday's cancelled rally, Patriot Prayer's Joey Gibson is driven behind police and arrested — "What happened Joey??" pic.twitter.com/tQJTh6lr7E
— Jack Smith IV (@JackSmithIV) August 27, 2017
According San Francisco Chronicle reporter Lizzie Johnson, police say Gibson wasn’t arrested but was rescued from the violent mob:
Gibson wasn't arrested, officials say. He's considered a "rescue." No further details. #berkeley https://t.co/eVtz5hyjJv
— Lizzie Johnson (@lizziejohnsonnn) August 27, 2017
3:03 p.m. Joey Gibson “rescued”: Police officials said the detaining of Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson was actually a “rescue.” Gibson was placed in handcuffs after being chased, hit and pepper-sprayed by a mob of black-clad demonstrators. He was not arrested or charged.
This video shot by Reveal’s Al Letson shows Joey Gibson being chased by the mob and pepper sprayed at the Berkeley protest.
Other unfortunate people were also chased down and/or beaten by the left-wing mob. One poor man had urine poured in his face.
Clip is from live chopper feed by @kcranews in #Berkeley. No cops seen, this is #Antifa. https://t.co/vQHUculNTX pic.twitter.com/AJvowKzbev
— Nick Short 🇺🇸 (@PoliticalShort) August 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/shane_bauer/status/901910682030882816
#ANTIFA TERRORISTS
Beat a man
Shove him to the ground
Throw urine in his facehttps://t.co/c5kisDiAn8#MAGA #Berkeley #BerkeleyProtest
— Boca Vista (@bocavista2016) August 27, 2017
#Trump supporter cornered by protesters at#Berkeleyprotest Cops in there with him pic.twitter.com/ejlBwCIOeL
— Thomas Peele (@thomas_peele) August 27, 2017
A youth had to be escorted out of the melee for his own safety:
https://twitter.com/youthradio/status/901904448724754433
Trump supporter Arthur Schaper chased from MLK then cornered. Citizen & police escorted him to his car. #Berkeley #Trump pic.twitter.com/nW6iKYqr8n
— Leah Millis (@LeahMillis) August 27, 2017
A photographer was also assaulted:
https://twitter.com/LeighMartinezTV/status/901897070092574721
Thousands of left-wing activists — including Black Lives Matter and Antifa — marched from the UC Berkeley campus to Civic Center Park Sunday morning for a “Bay Area Rally Against Hate” to counter-protest two conservative rallies that had been planned in the San Francisco area.
All right, a huge number of people (appears some BLM, some #antifa, some counter-protesters) have moved to Ohlone Park. #Berkeley
— Lizzie Johnson (@lizziejohnsonnn) August 27, 2017
Both conservative rallies were canceled out of concern for the safety of participants. A “No to Marxism in America” rally in Berkeley was cancelled Friday evening by sponsor Amber Cummings, who told a San Francisco Chronicle reporter that the threat of violence gave her “grave concerns for the safety of the people attending my event.”
In a lengthy statement on Facebook, Cummings said the purpose of her rally was “to speak out against the political violence happening to people who do not agree” with left-wing ideology, and that the meaning was being lost as rhetoric around the rally escalated. However, she said she “alone” would still show up Sunday.
Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson also canceled his San Francisco “Freedom Rally,” citing concern for his group’s safety after CA. Rep Nancy Pelosi smeared his event, calling it a white supremacist rally. He made the announcement in a Facebook video Friday afternoon.
“We’ve decided that tomorrow really seems like a set-up, it doesn’t seem safe,” Gibson said, blaming what he called “rhetoric” from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and others who have called the event a white supremacist rally.
“We’re not going to go down there. We’re not going to have a rally at Crissy Field,” Gibson said.
Gibson, however, told the SF Chronicle that he would be “dropping in an out of downtown Berkeley all day in hopes of talking to normal people.”
The counter-protesters, meanwhile, said in a statement early Sunday that “we fully intend to move forward with (the Rally Against Hate)” on the university campus despite calls by the university police department for people to stay away for safety reasons.
A handful of Trump supporters also decided to show up.
Police broke up a heated verbal altercation between a man wearing a red “Make America Great Again” and another man who was in his face. The two men were surrounded by members of the media and citizens recording the spat on cameras and smart phones.
Arthur Schaller of Torrance (Los Angeles County) stood in the fray with a white Trump flag around his shoulders. He handed out businesses cards printed with the American flag.
“This is a movement bigger than Joey Gibson,” he said, referencing the organizer behind a planned rally the day before in San Francisco. “This state is a beautiful state. We just have bad people running it. We need to expose that hatred in the left. All I want is for liberals and Trump supporters to show up and talk today.”
Make no mistake: by rallying against “hate,” these left-wing agitators meant to hatefully and violently confront decent people who want to promote free speech and oppose communism.
Antifa crowd shouting: "this is for Charlottesville" #berkeley #mlkpark pic.twitter.com/DG3WBz6pZB
— Berkeleyside (@berkeleyside) August 27, 2017
"Whose streets? OUR streets. The people united will never be defeated." #Berkeley pic.twitter.com/BKreispRMs
— Lizzie Johnson (@lizziejohnsonnn) August 27, 2017
Here's what it is looking like near Ohlone Park. #berkeley pic.twitter.com/9Cytz8tcRj
— Lizzie Johnson (@lizziejohnsonnn) August 27, 2017
Fourteen people have been arrested thus far, according to SF Chronicle reporter Lizzie Johnson on Twitter:
Today: 14 people arrested in #Berkeley. Civic Center Park empty. Police helicopter still circling. #berkeley
— Lizzie Johnson (@lizziejohnsonnn) August 27, 2017
Agitators were arrested for “various violations” such as the no-mask rule and assault, according to KCRA:
Three of the people detained had violated the no-mask rule, KCRA reporter Mike Luery said. One woman arrested had allegedly assaulted a photographer, KCRA reporter Vicki Gonzalez said. Two men were arrested after exchanging blows. The SFGate reported they were quickly swept up by officers inside Civic Center Park.
"Get out of Berkeley!" Crowd chants as police make one arrest for assault in Berkeley. https://t.co/gqXsaot6ji pic.twitter.com/yK6CeSDcYl
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) August 27, 2017
#BREAKING: Arrests being made at flashpoints around #Berkeley. Crowds starting to surge. Police move in rapidly. #berkeleyprotests @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/7iQ8WeX7m6
— Steve Patterson (@PattersonNBC) August 27, 2017
Around 2:30 p.m., thousands of protesters streamed out of Civic Center Park and started marching north on Martin Luther King Way, police said.
About 4,000 people converged at the park as clashes broke out between right-wing and left-wing groups, police said.
“We have received reports of several fights breaking out,” police said in a statement Sunday afternoon. “As a reminder, please separate yourself from any violence so that police can direct their resources as needed.”
The police should be more precise in their wording. Judging from the many videos that have emerged from the rally, those were not “clashes” or “fights” that broke out. They were “left on right” assaults.
More information became available about the man assaulted:
So the man attacked here by the Antifa mob was a photographer! Had no relation to any group, just a photographer. https://t.co/4yu3uGzMZx https://t.co/gL77YUYq2Q
— Nick Short 🇺🇸 (@PoliticalShort) August 28, 2017
Cops "help" the photographer to safety AFTER he was beaten up by Antifa who thought he was Trump supporter. https://t.co/4yu3uGzMZx pic.twitter.com/wZ4G0Ku9d6
— Nick Short 🇺🇸 (@PoliticalShort) August 28, 2017
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