A member of the Proud Boys group was stabbed in a Washington D.C. brawl after fighting erupted in the streets between the pro-Trump group and members of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protest groups.
You can watch videos and see photos of the aftermath of the stabbing below. The unidentified Proud Boy member was seen clutching his stomach in agony and was photographed being placed in an ambulance. His condition is not known.
He was one of four people who were stabbed in the aftermath of the second Million MAGA March as fighting broke out between the different factions. It’s not clear whether any of the other people stabbed with were the Proud Boys, BLM, Antifa, and so forth. We’ve reached out to D.C. police to get more details. Four people were stabbed as clashes erupted between pro-Donald Trump members of the Proud Boys group and Black Lives Matter.
Washington D.C. police told Heavy.com, “All unrest-related arrests can be found on our website here. Additionally, MPD had eight members with reported injuries in connection to the demonstrations.” As for the stabbing report, MPD wrote, “All victims were transported to an area hospital, conscious and breathing, for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Responding officers arrested 29 year-old Phillip Johnson, of Northwest, DC, for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.”
You can read the police report here.
it identifies the stabbing victims as Franklin Todd Gregory of McMinnville, Tennessee; Corey Owen Nielsen, of Robbinsdale, Minnesota; Jeremy Bertino, of Locust, North Carolina; and Gregory Lyons of unknown address.
Bertino is a Proud Boy member.
The report says: On Saturday, 12/12/2020, at approximately 2100 hours, officers working First Amendment demonstrations in the District of Columbia responded for a fight in progress. Upon arrival, officers located V-1, V-2, V-3, and V-4, all suffering stab wounds. V-1 identified S-1 as the person who stabbed him. Further investigation revealed a video from the NY Post showing S-3 push S-1 in the back, at which point S-1 produces a knife, and S-4 then pull on S-1’smask repeatedly, at which point V-2/S-2 punches S-1 repeatedly in the head. V-1, V-2, V-3, V-4, and S-1 were all transported to local hospitals.” We wrote D.C. police a follow-up email to confirm whether they are accusing Johnson of all of the stabbings. They wrote, “The suspect in this case in connection with all 4 victims is Phillip Johnson. However, this case remains under investigation.”
After the stabbing, members of the Proud Boys – who stand out because they wear yellow-and-black colors – knelt in solidarity with the wounded man.
The suspect is not clear; it’s also not yet clear whether one person did the stabbing, although video did emerge showing Proud Boys and police converging on a man. It’s also clear from videos and photos that both sides were fighting and engaging in acts of violence.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Proud Boy Was Seen Clutching His Stomach
One video shared on Twitter was captioned, “At least one proud boy stabbed after random lone protester fights with multiple proud boys. This protester was the only one around in a mob of a few hundred pb’s and fought with one prior to this video starting and him brandishing a knife.” A man in Proud Boy colors falls to the ground in this video as someone calls for a medic.
Another video, by Eric Thomas, was captioned, “A #ProudBoy is stabbed during a fight with #antifa and requests MPD attention.”
The stabbings occurred near the 500 block of 11th Street NW, according to News4. That’s near Harry’s Bar, which the New York Post described as “a gathering point for the right-wing Proud Boys group.”
WUSA9 reported that the four people “were stabbed at the intersection of 11th Street and F Street in downtown DC near Black Lives Matter Plaza,” and that they all have “critical injuries.” Two Washington D.C. police officers were also injured in the fray, the television station reported.
Videos provided more details on what happened. This video above was viewed 150,000 times; the caption read, “Right NOW: Lone Attacker With A Knife Is Struck In The Head As Crowd Goes Into Chaos.”
It’s hard to decipher but people appear to shout, “knife,” and “get that mother f***er.” Chaos erupts, and the crowd appears to be gathering around and trying to subdue, even hitting, a person. Police then enter the fray.
GettyMembers of the Proud Boys pose for a photo during a protest on December 12, 2020.
Daily Mail reported that the Proud Boy was stabbed after confronting an “anti-Trump protester.” Daily Mail reported that some of those stabbed were in critical condition. Pictures show the stabbed Proud Boy clutching his stomach as he is being placed in an ambulance.
Photographer Adam Gray wrote, “A member of the #ProudBoys is stabbed during violent running street fights in #WashingtonDC tonight #DC #DCProtests @SWNS.” Other photos he posted show, he wrote, Proud Boys fighting with BLM activists during “violent running street fights,” and Proud Boys burning a Black Lives Matter sign.
GettyMembers of the Proud Boys and Antifa clash during a protest on December 12, 2020.
According to The Washington Post, multiple people were stabbed on the night of December 12 as thousands of people demonstrated for President Donald Trump and were met by counter protesters.
Daily Mail reported that the four people were stabbed “after violence erupted between the Proud Boys and Black Lives Matter counter-protesters.”
Gray described what happened as “violent clashes between BLM and Proud Boys.”
According to The Post, the rallygoers “refused to accept the results of the election.” The speakers included former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist who said, according to Daily Mail, “Joe Biden will be removed, one way or another!”
At Least 23 People Were Arrested
Antifa members were reportedly throwing objects at officers, according to reports from people at the scene. Eric Thomas posted a video from earlier in the day captioned, “#antifa clash with MPD as they push the police line back. after numerous objects are thrown at officers they advance towards protestors where things get intense. #MarchForTrump #BlackLivesMatter.”
He also wrote, “multiple fights break out between #antifa and the Proud Boys as the two groups meet. Cops try to intervene as pepper spray is shot into the crowd.”
There was violence on both sides.
Getty Members of the Proud Boys kick a member of Antifa on the ground during a protest on December 12, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Protests group were “fighting in the streets,” reported WUSA9. The television station reported that 23 people were arrested on December 12, including six for assaulting police officers. It’s not clear which side those arrested affiliated with. Groups associated with the Proud Boys burned Black Lives Matter banners. Antifa clashed with police, throwing objects, according to the television station.
The Southern Poverty Law Center labels the Proud Boys extremists, which is a label they disavow. “Their disavowals of bigotry are belied by their actions: rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists,” the site says. “They are known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric. Proud Boys have appeared alongside other hate groups at extremist gatherings like the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville.”
SPLC’s descriptors of the Proud Boys have been disputed by their founder Gavin McInnes, who filed a lawsuit against SPLC, according to the Anti-Defamation League. It was dismissed. “The Proud Boys represent an unconventional strain of American right-wing extremism. While the group can be described as violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and misogynistic, its members represent a range of ethnic backgrounds, and its leaders vehemently protest any allegations of racism,” ADL writes.
During a debate with Biden, Trump controversially told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” before claiming he didn’t know who they were.
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