
Twitter Tim Carpenter collapsed on the ground at a protest in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin State Senator Tim Carpenter has posted video of the moments before he was “punched and kicked in the head” at June 23 protests in Madison, Wisconsin. A local journalist said he called an ambulance when Carpenter collapsed shortly after.
The senator said he is currently locked in his office at the State Capitol in Madison after he was attacked by “8-10 people.”
In the video the senator posted, several people run towards the cameraman and appear to knock the camera down before the footage cuts out.
I took this pic- it got me assaulted & beat up. Punched/kicked in the head, neck, ribs. Maybe concussion, socked in left eye is little blurry, sore neck & ribs. 8-10 people attacked me. Innocent people are going to get killed. Capitol locked- stuck in office.Stop violence nowPlz! pic.twitter.com/Zw2hdfYG66
— Tim Carpenter (@TimCarpenterMKE) June 24, 2020
The senator was punched in the face while filming protests at the scene near Capitol Square early in the morning of June 24, Isthmus journalist Dylan Brogan reported.
“@TimCarpenterMKE was just punched in the face by Madison protesters because he was filming. Several people attacked him,” Brogan said on Twitter.
.@TimCarpenterMKE was just punched in the face by Madison protesters because he was filming. Several people attacked him. pic.twitter.com/jyGIfe0Ogq
— Dylan Brogan (@telldylan) June 24, 2020
Carpenter said on Twitter he may have a concussion after being “punched and kicked in the head.”
“This is the picture that got me assaulted and beat up by a mob. Punched & kicked in the head. Might have concussion, left eye a little blurry, cheek shollen, sore neck and ribs. This has to stop before some innocent person get killed. I locked up in the Capitol until it’s safe.”
This is the picture that got me assaulted and beat up by a mob. Punched & kicked in the head. Might have concussion, left eye a little blurry, cheek shollen, sore neck and ribs. This has to stop before some innocent person get killed. I locked up in the Capitol until it’s safe
— Tim Carpenter (@TimCarpenterMKE) June 24, 2020
Protests were unfolding on North Fairchild Street and Hamilton Street. NBC reporter George Balekji said “law enforcement in full riot gear” had turned up in Madison in a “standoff between protestors and police.”
Sight I haven’t seen in Madison since May 31… law enforcement in full riot gear. This standoff between protestors and police is at the top of Hamilton. pic.twitter.com/lHMHrPNv8V
— George Balekji (@GeorgeBalekji) June 24, 2020
NBC later reported that protesters had pushed police back at the scene “after a tense 90 minutes.”
After a tense 90 minutes, police in riot gear left the scene and protesters went home. No tear gas. pic.twitter.com/cnH8kgHYpX
— Dylan Brogan (@telldylan) June 24, 2020
MPD just left the standoff. Protesters started to clap as law enforcement got in their squad cars. pic.twitter.com/Y7KzV3wzOn
— Brittney Ermon (@Brittney_NBC15) June 24, 2020
Tweet Shows Carpenter Collapsed on the Ground
I believe this is State Senator Tim Carpenter. Minutes earlier he told us the protesters assaulted him. Then he collapsed walking towards the Capitol. We called paramedics. An ambulance is here now. pic.twitter.com/uUSdKyQ1hp
— Lance Veeser (@lanceveeser) June 24, 2020
Sports Director at WKOW Lance Veeser said on Twitter he called emergency responders to attend to a collapsed Carpenter at the protests. He tweeted a picture with the caption, “I believe this is State Senator Tim Carpenter. Minutes earlier he told us the protesters assaulted him. Then he collapsed walking towards the Capitol. We called paramedics. An ambulance is here now.”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Lawrence Andrea said protesters claimed Carpenter “provoked them” to the action. He said he spoke to the senator, who claimed he was “just taking a picture of the protesters” when he was attacked.
Wisconsin State Senator Tim Carpenter was just attacked by a group of protesters on Fairchild Street.
Protesters said he provoked them.
“This is the first time I’ve been assaulted” he says
— Lawrence Andrea (@lawrencegandrea) June 24, 2020
Sen. Carpenter tells me he was just taking a picture of the protesters when they attacked him.
He’s heading to the Capitol, where he said he was planning to do work tonight
— Lawrence Andrea (@lawrencegandrea) June 24, 2020
Journal Sentinel’s Molly Beck says she spoke with Carpenter at the scene of the incident and quoted him as saying, “I don’t know what happened … all I did was stop and take a picture … and the next thing I’m getting five-six punches, getting kicked in the head.”
Democratic state Sen. Tim Carpenter after being assaulted: "I don't know what happened … all I did was stop and take a picture … and the next thing I'm getting five-six punches, getting kicked in the head."
— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) June 24, 2020
Protesters Toppled the Forward Statue
Here’s the base of where the Forward State was. pic.twitter.com/L9wzXc4riI
— Stephen Cohn (@stephen__cohn) June 24, 2020
Protesters brought down the Forward statue — a statue of a woman representing progress that stood outside the Capitol. Channel 3000 said “the protest was sparked by the arrest of a Black activist who was protesting outside Cooper’s Tavern earlier in the day.”
The Forward statue is now in the middle of the State Street, Dayton and Fairchild intersection. pic.twitter.com/3zlfwp9ZGT
— Emily Hamer (@ehamer7) June 24, 2020
Posting a video of the moment the statue was felled, State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called the tearing down of the statue “absolutely despicable.”
This is absolutely despicable. I am saddened at the cowardice of Madison officials to deal with these thugs. @GovEvers are you going to finally do something about these protestors committing crimes on state property? https://t.co/HUx13e460B
— Robin Vos (@repvos) June 24, 2020
Protesters also toppled a statue of Colonel Hans Christian Heg — who died in battle “fighting to preserve the United States and end slavery,” according to the Wisconsin State Journal —and “dragged it into Lake Monona.”
Protesters just dumped the Hans Christian Heg statue into Lake Monona. pic.twitter.com/wW7rpKUsFQ
— Emily Hamer (@ehamer7) June 24, 2020
Protesters Threw Beer & Water Over Cars as Vehicles Drove Through Crowds
Protesters just poured beer and water over a car on Blair Street, after yelling at the female driver. pic.twitter.com/pfhYkanf7Z
— Emily Hamer (@ehamer7) June 24, 2020
Protesters were pouring “beer and water over a car on Blair Street, after yelling at the female driver,” State Journal reporter Emily Hamer said.
Crowds were chanting “free Yeshua” after demonstrations had kicked off at the Dane County Jail “because of the arrest of a Black activist earlier,” Hamer said.
“Free Yeshua” has been among protesters’ chants so far.
This demonstration started at the Dane County Jail a few hours ago in part because of the arrest of a Black activist earlier today. Background on that incident here: https://t.co/czNZDjyBiB
— Emily Hamer (@ehamer7) June 24, 2020
Protesters are outside of the Downtown Madison Police Station and Dane County Jail chanting, “Free Yeshua!” pic.twitter.com/w08gUWnRxC
— Emily Hamer (@ehamer7) June 24, 2020
The Wisconsin State Journal reported that Devonere Johnson, 28, who has identified himself multiple times as Yeshua Musa, “was arrested after causing a disturbance in a restaurant on the Capitol Square” earlier June 23. The State Journal reported that “as many as five officers” were involved in the arrest and carried Johnson to a police car after they say he resisted.
Hamer reported that one man was hit when a car drove into the crowd.
I just saw a red car just speed through a small crowd of protesters.
Police came over right away to make sure everyone was OK. Protesters are OK with the police presence because the officers are “doing their job.”
Here’s an interaction between protesters and the officer. pic.twitter.com/8wXasnGBEM
— Emily Hamer (@ehamer7) June 24, 2020
A paramedic is here right now to make sure that the man who was hit by the car is okay. pic.twitter.com/W2nF4kwO95
— Emily Hamer (@ehamer7) June 24, 2020
The protests continued on through the night. Hamer also tweeted a video when a fight broke out. “A few protesters just beat a man up and smashed the windows of his car, after the man rammed into a person’s bike, then came out of his car walking towards protesters with his fists raised.
“I saw the man on the ground curled up in a ball.”
A few protesters just beat a man up and smashed the windows of his car, after the man rammed into a person’s bike, then came out of his car walking towards protesters with his fists raised.
I saw the man on the ground curled up in a ball. pic.twitter.com/fGYmDDf78j
— Emily Hamer (@ehamer7) June 24, 2020
Hamer also reported the crowd “lit a garbage can on fire and something inside of a window of the Madison Police Station,” and there were broken windows at the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.
Protesters just shattered the front entrance windows of the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership. You can hear the windows still shattering in the background. pic.twitter.com/XtEfJ5VefC
— Emily Hamer (@ehamer7) June 24, 2020
Protesters just lit a garbage can on fire and something inside of a window of the Madison Police Station. Fire inside the window was very small. Hard to see in photos. pic.twitter.com/FFVUsANWPI
— Emily Hamer (@ehamer7) June 24, 2020
Wisconsin Black Lives Matter activists were seeking information after an unidentified individual or group carried out a mock lynching in Milwaukee park during the protests, OD Action News said.
Mock lynching conducted in Milwaukee park discovered by Black Lives Matter activists https://t.co/a27LKCJr5B JUST IN!: The Black victims of police violence were hung in effigy in Wisconsin, and BLM activists want to know who did it. pic.twitter.com/trr04Enphc
— OD Action (@ODAction_News) June 24, 2020
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