75-year-old Buffalo protester who was pushed by cops faces death threats, 'not safe to go home' after brain injury
BUFFALO, NEW YORK: The 75-year-old man who suffered a brain injury after he was forcefully pushed to the ground by police officers at a George Floyd protest is now facing another dilemma. Martin Gugino, of Amherst, cannot go home because he is "getting death threats", his lawyer has revealed.
Gugino had hit international headlines after a video captured him being shoved by an officer, while standing in front of Buffalo City Hall, at around 8:10 pm on June 4, following a peaceful protest that had dispersed for the day.
The push caused him to stumble and fall back, and hit his head on the sidewalk. He was admitted to the hospital in a serious but stable condition and was later moved to Erie County Medical Center’s rehabilitation floor after recovering further.
However, his lawyer, Kelly Zarcone, told TMZ that the 75-year-old "cannot go back home even after he is released because there are threats against his life". She also shared that she had been on the receiving end of the abuse and had been threatened with torture.
She said the threats were likely coming from those who believed a false claim about Gugino that was doing the rounds: "that he had been arrested 300 times and has a long history of inciting riots".
Zarcone conceded that Gugino had been arrested on four previous occasions but that they had all been on account of peacefully protesting. She said just one of those arrests resulted in a criminal charge, which was for trespassing, and that he was eventually acquitted of it.
President Donald Trump had openly tweeted to his 82 million followers, without proof, that Gugino might have been an "Antifa provocateur" – referring to autonomous groups opposed to fascism and other forms of extreme right-wing ideology – who was trying to disrupt police communication. "Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an Antifa provocateur," Trump posted. "75-year-old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to blackout the equipment. I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a setup?"
Zarcone said Trump's claim was "incredibly offensive" and "completely false," and that her client had always been peaceful when he took to the streets to protest.
She had previously revealed that Gugino's brain had been injured in the attack. "Martin is a soft-spoken but thoughtful and principled man," she said. "As heartbreaking as it is, his brain is injured and he is well aware of that now."
"He feels encouraged and uplifted by the outpouring of support which he has received from so many people all over the globe. It helps," she continued. "He is looking forward to healing and determining what his 'new normal' might look like."
She expanded on the extent of his injuries further in a statement to CNN and said he had "suffered a fractured skull and was not able to walk.
"I am not at liberty to elaborate at this time other than to confirm that his skull was fractured," she said. "While he is not able to walk yet, we were able to have a short conversation before he became too tired. He is appreciative of all of the concern about him but he is still focused on the issues rather than himself.."