Pennsylvania 'Karen' filmed calling BLM protesters trash in racist rant: 'You live off white people!'
WATSONTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA: As the George Floyd protests continue to dominate headlines, incidents of racist confrontations with protesters are increasingly coming to light, with one woman in Pennsylvania filmed shouting, "You live off white people!" at a peaceful group. In a video shared on Twitter which has been viewed over 1.5 million times, a 'Karen' in Watsontown can be seen confronting protesters walking down the street yelling a Black Lives Matter slogan, "No justice, no peace!"
The woman can be heard shouting "trash" and "f*** you, we're going to give you peace" at the group, who don't respond to her taunts and respond calmly to her provocations. One man off-camera tells her, "We love you" even as she yells "b****" and "f****** b****".
"You live off white people!" she says, to which the protesters once again reply with, "We love you!" Incensed, the woman screams, "You f****** communists!" and "F*** off, keep your HIV over there!"
Newsweek reported that the Black Lives Matter protest filmed in the video was organized by the 'If Not Us, Then Who?' group, but that the presence of counter-protesters such as the woman forced police to shut down three blocks of traffic over fears of a violent confrontation. "We didn't plan to block the street off. There was a confrontation in the middle of the street. Things are going to get ugly here," Watsontown Police Chief Rodney Witherite told Daily Item.
While small groups did confront each other, a line of police officers from Watsontown and other departments elected to stand in between to ensure that the situation did not escalate further. The aforementioned woman was not the only one who hit headlines in the city over the past week either. Another video shared on Twitter shows another 'Karen' -- an internet term used to describe a white woman who is perceived to be entitled, demanding, and racist -- shouting at protesters from her car.
"Democrats started the KKK," she can be heard yelling as Black Lives Matter protesters marched past her. A child who is next to her joins her and shouts, "All lives matter!"
Several such incidents have been recorded across the country. MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) recently reported about a 'Ken and Karen' lawyer couple in St. Louis, Missouri, who had brandished their weapons against protesters speaking out against Mayor Lyda Krewson. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, both personal injury lawyers, were seen threatening protesters outside their five-floor palatial home in St. Louis' Forest Park Area around 6 pm on Sunday, June 28. Mark, who was carrying an AR-15, could be heard yelling "Private property! Private property, get out!" at some of the protesters while menacingly holding his weapon, with his wife carrying a handgun and standing alongside him. Following widespread backlash, Mark claimed he and his wife had drawn their guns because the protesters had invaded private property and they were "in fear for our lives" after receiving death threats. "It was like the storming of the Bastille, the gate came down and a large crowd of angry, aggressive people poured through," he said. "I was terrified that we’d be murdered within seconds. Our house would be burned down, our pets would be killed."