Trump fan pulls gun on Antifa rioters after truck's taillights smashed, vandalized with paint at Freedom Rally
An unidentified Donald Trump fan was caught on camera pulling a gun on Antifa protesters after his truck was vandalized during a caravan past the capitol building in Salem, Oregon.
Video footage shows the left-wing militants tossing paint across the truck's windscreen and smashing its taillights before the driver stepped out and brandished the weapon. The Antifa movement has been known to have a presence in the US in the 1980s, but shot into prominence following the election of former President Trump in 2016. Members take up causes such as LGBTQ and indigenous rights. What makes them stand out is the violence.
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Some of the Antifa protesters on Tuesday were armed with mace, but it is unclear whether they used it on the older man, who was wearing an American flag sweater and was almost immediately ordered by police to drop to the ground and let go of his handgun, reported the CNN.
The man initially appeared calm as the protesters surrounded and mocked him, some threateningly aiming canisters at him throughout the confrontation, but the tiff took an ugly turn after he was either sprayed in the face or struck with an object, causing him to flinch and draw his weapon on the crowd, the New York Post reported.
The tense moment made up one of many clashes near the Oregon State Capitol grounds in Salem, where about 200 anti-fascist demonstrators clashed with right-wing supporters and police in response to a planned "freedom rally" and flag wave on Sunday.
Although it began as a large gathering of protesters in a "black bloc" on Capitol grounds, it concluded with police declaring an unlawful assembly, four arrests and multiple people detained. Protesters clad in black masks and helmets, some wearing anti-fascist stickers, stood for a few hours waiting for a caravan from a right-wing rally in Sandy, Oregon, according to a report by the Statesman Journal.
The rally was billed as an event to honor those who “fought for our freedoms”, but got violent as the convoy passed by. Protesters on the sidewalks and on Salem streets hurled objects at a number of vehicles, breaking windows and creating mayhem. Cars driving past the Capitol were being struck with paint-filled balloons and lasers were being pointed at drivers, reported police. People stacked large shields reading "Abolish PPB" (Portland Police Bureau), while others were armed with bats, ballistic vests and gas masks, Salem police said.
Many of those who had gathered were not willing to be interviewed. A man asked Statesman Journal journalists to stop taking pictures, the report said.