Posted on 08/21/2017 9:45:15 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The number of attendees at Saturday’s counter-protest dwarfed those attending a “Free Speech Rally,” which took place on the Parkman Bandstand in Boston Common.
Roughly 40,000 counter-protesters showed up to Boston Common, according to estimates, while only a handful of protesters gathered on the bandstand behind a police buffer zone.
Many of those attending the “Free Speech Rally” wore clothing supporting President Donald J. Trump, like his “Make America Great Again” hats, and some people walked through the crowd of counter-protesters wearing Trump shirts.
Vulgar taunts were directed toward people wearing Trump paraphernalia, but some counter-protesters tried to protect those who walked into the crowd.
One man, wearing a Vietnam Veteran hat, escorted a Trump supporter through the counter-protesters screaming “no violence.”
Mobs of people would surround Trump supporters who gave interviews to media, and some would try to shout them down.
Another man, who identified himself as 54-year-old Nelson Zapata, waved around a flagpole that had the American flag, the POW/MIA flag and a Trump flag on it. Protesters tried to rip the Trump flag off his flagpole before police escorted Zapata away.
“I thought this was supposed to be a free speech rally,” Zapata told The Forum.
While The Forum didn’t see any Trump supporters get attacked, violence was visible early on during the rallies in The Common.
Two men were observed screaming at each other, with one chanting “Black Lives Matter” and the other yelling “All Lives Matter.”
About a minute after they started screaming, both were involved in a fight with each other that would lead to their detention by Boston police.
The most peaceful part of the day was when thousands gathered near the State House along Beacon Street on the north lawn of Boston Common. Protesters arrived from the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury after marching through the city holding signs against fascism.
Dance groups formed near drum circles and rainbow flags were a common sight at the rally.
Protesters chanted slogans against Trump and denouncing racism.
Some protesters at the counter-rally wore clothing in all black, with their faces covered.
A group many at the rally identified as the anti-Fascist group “Antifa” arrived in unison and marched into The Common around noon.
When they arrived, a man walking with them was filmed trying to take an American flag from an older woman and the footage would later air on Fox News. The woman was dragged to the ground after refusing to let go of her flag.
About a minute later, The Forum interacted with this woman as she was sat on the ground and tended to by other protesters. The woman was upset and crying.
Later in the rally, this woman was back on her feet and holding the American flag. She was getting into heated exchanges with protesters.
When something was happening in or around Boston Common, it became obvious quickly because many people would run toward the direction of the disturbances.
Much of the attention turned to Tremont Street as the afternoon went on. Shortly before 1 p.m., a crowd had gathered in the street and on the sidewalks.
Published reports reveal that attendees at the “Free Speech Rally” were being escorted out of Boston Common by police around this time.
Protesters soon blocked Tremont Street and arrests were made as police tried to keep the street clear. The scene turned chaotic for a time as people chased after protesters that were exiting the “Free Speech Rally” and some cars sitting in traffic began to honk at demonstrators.
One demonstrator banged a car that had honked, which dented it.
Derogatory chants were directed at police on Tremont Street and protesters were heard chanting “cops and Klan go hand in hand” near Downtown Crossing.
At least one journalist was spotted getting threatened in the crowd when WATD reporter Dan McCready was told to leave by some protesters. McCready told protesters he was covering the event without bias and was not attacked. Some protesters came to McCready’s defense.
As police reacted on Tremont Street, many protesters moved toward Downtown Crossing with a large group gathering along Washington Street.
In Downtown Crossing, protesters dressed in black were seen kicking at police motorcycles, throwing water bottles at officers, and some called police “pigs.”
Arrests were made near Macy’s in Downtown Crossing and a brief scuffle broke out between several protesters and police when a man tried to steal sodas from a hot-dog vendor.
Before that, some protesters had begun banging on the vendor’s stand.
In at least one instance, a protester was seen walking out of a store with a beer as the store’s ownership tried to chase him down.
The protester walked away down Temple Place drinking a Corona as a worker at the store said, “right is right and wrong is wrong.”
Another incident involved a man with a bloody head being escorted by police away from the demonstrations. A mob of people chased after the entourage before the injured man was placed behind a barricade by police.
The tense situation in Downtown Crossing was calmed when police began interacting with the protesters.
Superintendent and Chief William G. Gross, of the Boston Police Department, was pictured talking to protesters.
Gross thanked the protesters for not breaking anything, and for staying largely peaceful for most of the day.
After that, the crowds assembled in Downtown Crossing began to disperse.
When the protest concluded, many who went placed their signs along fences in Boston Common.
This is a first-hand account of what Braintree Forum saw on the ground in Boston Common and Downtown Crossing on Saturday. Reach Bradford Randall at branadall@wickedlocal.com.
This is an outright lie: The water bottles were not filled with water.
And Gross was thanking them for their great behavior! Idiot
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