Conservatives Staging Free Speech Rally Attacked, Event Organizer Left Bloody Mess
A free speech demonstration staged by conservative activists quickly fell apart in downtown San Francisco on Saturday after several hundred counterprotesters surged the area, outnumbering and attacking those gathered, including knocking one in the mouth.
A photographer working for The Associated Press witnessed a Trump supporter being taken away in an ambulance and an injured San Francisco police officer on the ground by San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza.
A group called Team Save America organized the rally to protest Twitter, which it said squelches conservative speech. Members of the group wore red “Make America Great Again” Trump campaign hats and carried pro-police “Thin Blue Line” flags and U.S. flags.
Philip Anderson, the organizer of the event, posted photos to social media of his bloody mouth with a front tooth missing and another hanging loosely.
Antifa attacked me for no reason. pic.twitter.com/kDajqqyQ78
— Philip Anderson (@TeamSaveAmerica) October 17, 2020
“Antifa tried to kill us all,” he wrote.
Anderson took the stage at about 1 p.m. and was greeted by chants and plastic water bottles and glass bottles thrown over police barricades.
The event was canceled, although both sides lingered in the area into the afternoon.
Warning: The following video contains strong language that may be offensive to some readers.
Antifa attacked me for literally no reason.
pic.twitter.com/xS99JCICbK— Philip Anderson (@TeamSaveAmerica) October 18, 2020
The San Francisco Police Department said three officers were injured when they were assaulted with pepper spray and caustic chemicals.
One officer was taken to a local hospital for treatment, the department said.
Joe Biden, do you still think that Antifa is “just an idea” ? pic.twitter.com/UECmU39Tx6
— Philip Anderson (@TeamSaveAmerica) October 17, 2020
No arrests were made, the department said.
Anderson called the counterprotesters hypocrites and said they are the reason why he’s voting for President Donald Trump.
“I love America, I love this country and I love free speech,” he said.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
