Police in Olympia, Washington report that last Saturday a U.S. Air Force pilot was beaten by a mob of “anarchists” that took exception to the pair of Confederate flags the pilot was flying from his motorcycle.
The pilot, who is stationed at nearby Joint Base Lewis McCord, was stuck in traffic as a mob of protestors streamed across 4th Ave. in downtown Olympia. But when some of the protesters saw that the pilot was displaying Confederate flags from his motorcycle, they swarmed around him and began assaulting him.
“They sprayed the victim in the face with mace, and struck him in the back with a baseball bat and a glass bottle filled with red paint,” the police report said. “The victim suffered severe eye irritation and a bruised shoulder and back. One of the witnesses attempting to assist the victim was also sprayed in the face with mace.”
The police report states that the pilot “suffered severe eye irritation and a bruised shoulder and back.”
A bystander attempted to come to the pilot’s aide but was also sprayed in the face with mace by the attackers.
Police note that the protesters were dressed all in black, and camouflage, and wore masks covering their faces, so descriptions of the assailants were hard to come by.
While the police say they have “a long history of supporting protests and groups who exercise their First Amendment rights in a peaceful manner,” they also said that this protest was not a peaceful one.
“This protest … resulted in criminal activity with injuries to two victims and later, extensive damage to City Hall. This protest group identified themselves as ‘anarchists,’ which is a local Hate Group. Their actions and message was violence and hatred,” the Olympia police said.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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