Family Harassed & Accused of Being Antifa by Residents in Forks, Wash.

A family of four was camping in Forks, Wash., when locals accused them of being Antifa and harassed them, following them to the campsite and cutting down trees to block the road, police said. The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release to Peninsula Daily late on Thursday, saying that four high school students helped the family leave by clearing out the trees with chainsaws.

The family was described by the outlet as a multi-racial family of four hailing from Spokane — a husband and wife, their 16-year-old daughter and the man’s mother. The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a criminal investigation and is looking for information regarding those involved. Many people spoke about the events on Twitter, with some people sharing screenshots of locals bragging about what happened.

Neither the names of the family nor those of the locals involved have been provided by the authorities.

The Sheriff’s Office Said the Locals Harassed the Camping Family, Believing They Were ‘Antifa’

According to the sheriff’s office, the family was driving a full-length school bus and had gone to the Forks Outfitters on Thursday to stock up on camping supplies. An update in the Forks Forum Facebook group says that in the parking lot, the family was confronted by “seven or eight car loads of people,” who “repeatedly asked them if they were ‘ANTIFA’ protesters.” The family said they weren’t and drove their bus past the groups and got onto highway 101, where they drove up the Sitkum Sol Duc Road (known as the A Road).

The family told police officers that about four vehicles followed them from Forks Outfitters and they believed a couple of the vehicles had people with semi-automatic rifles. After getting to the A Road, the family turned off onto a logging road and set up camp for the night. However, police officers told Forks Forum that the campers decided to leave when they heard gunfire down the road and the sound of chainsaws. When they drove back down, they noticed that trees had been cut down across the road to prevent them from leaving, at which point they called the authorities.

The sheriff’s office told the local outlet that four high school students also contacted the authorities on their way to the scene and they used chainsaws to clear away the trees and help the family. When officers arrived, they escorted the family to the police station, where they got the statement of events.

Many People Took to Twitter to Share Screenshots of Facebook Conversations About the Event

The town of Forks began trending on Twitter with many discussing the story as well as making reference to the fact that the town is where the well-known Twilight series is set. People posted on Twitter some screenshots of Facebook conversations that indicate that some locals in Forks were bragging about these events.

One set of screenshots shared by Matthew Randazzo, available above, shows a local resident posting a picture of the trees blocking the road along with the caption: “Protect your town! #forksstrong.” One of the replies reads: “This makes me happy. I love our locals and feel pretty damn safe.”

In another set of screenshots, one resident said: “U think they realized they [came] to the wrong place yet?” To which another replied: “I think they have a good idea now,” and later adding, “it’s like the purge.”

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