Four students were arrested at Texas State University on Wednesday after gathering on campus to counter-protest a biker group’s demonstration that had never occurred. One of the students arrested had reportedly assaulted a conservative student who was wearing a MAGA hat.
Student protesters at Texas State University were arrested on Wednesday and are facing “various charges,” according to the university, which added that, “some students engaged in a heated discussion, which unfortunately escalated into a physical altercation between two students.”
One of the arrested students had reportedly removed a MAGA hat off a conservative student’s head and kicked it while it was on the ground. Multiple arrests were caught on video, depicting a dramatic interaction between students and police officers. Campus Reform shared the video on YouTube.
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The students in question had reportedly gathered on campus to counter-protest a biker group, Texas Nomads SAR, which had planned to assemble for a demonstration in support of the school’s Turning Point USA student group, after hearing how the group had been treated last month by Texas State’s student government.
The biker group, however, had decided to cancel its demonstration, according to a report by the Statesman. “We thought [our demonstration] was going to cause more ruckus than it was going to accomplish, so we decided to back out of it,” said the biker group’s vice president, Christopher Ritchie.
“It looks like the campus is having enough issues,” added the group’s spokesman, Jeremy Brooks.
The student protesters — some of whom were wearing what appeared to be Antifa-style masks — assembled on campus anyway, to counter-protest the demonstration that did not exist, resulting in a fight breaking out among students, as well as the assault of one conservative student who had been present and wearing a MAGA hat.
The conservative student said that he and some friends had approached the leftist group, seeking to engage in conversation, but that tensions grew, and moments later, “that’s when I felt someone kind of come up behind me and kind of grab my hat, lift it up, and try to run away,” said the student.
“None of our conservative people were ever instigating anything,” said the conservative student to Campus Reform, “I can guarantee that. No one was ever yelling or shouting over people. We were all very patient.”
Campus police reportedly began making arrests after the initial fight broke out among students.
The school’s “Young Democratic Socialists of America” group posted a tweet later that afternoon, which included the words, “don’t cuff students, cuff the haters,” alongside an image insinuating that conservative students — or “haters” — wearing MAGA hats should have been arrested.
#TXSTinjustice pic.twitter.com/eNy7YF2LnC
— YDSA @ TXST 🌹 (@TXSTYDSA) May 1, 2019
“Earlier today some students gathered on the Quad in the center of campus in anticipation of a planned demonstration by an outside group,” said Texas State University in a statement released on Wednesday, “To our knowledge, no outside groups were on campus today.”
“But some students engaged in a heated discussion which unfortunately escalated into a physical altercation between two students,” added the university, “The incident resulted in four students being arrested on various charges — one student had to be restrained on the ground by several officers before being escorted into the building.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo and on Instagram.
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