Antifa protesters assaulted a reporter filming in Richmond, Va., on Sunday night, and later defiantly blamed him for the attack on their Facebook page.
The unnamed reporter at WTVR CBS 6 was filming the marchers, who were protesting a monument to Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart, when he was hit with a blunt object, WTVR reports. The protesters believed they could stop him from filming by "denying consent" even though they were in public, and video shows them blocking his iPhone camera before striking him in the back of the head.
"Stop filming bro," one protester yelled.
"I can film whatever I want," the reporter replied, according to recorded video. "Get out of my face."
"That's when then I extended my arm above the flags to try to get a better shot of the protest," the reporter said. "One member of the group hit the phone out of my hand and my natural reaction was to push them out of my personal space. Immediately following I was hit in the back of the head with a some type of blunt object."
An ambulance took the reporter to a hospital where he received four staples in his head. He was later released from the hospital.
According to the Antifa Seven Hills, the marchers were the real victims of the reporter who was "perpetuating rape culture" by ignoring their "denial of consent."
"When this man ran up he was told people did not want to be filmed," Antifa Seven Hills wrote in a Facebook post. "He proceeded to film anyways. He was then told AGAIN that he was not to film people's faces. He proceeded anyways. He intentionally ignored the denial of consent, still without identifying himself (though we still wouldn't care), which was a threat to safety and should be considered in a context of perpetuating rape culture."
Antifa also argued that his presence as a white man was suspect.
"Due to the intensity and context of this time people are very scared of white men running full speed at them with iPhones as this is the exact behavior of a white supremacist trying to out identity of people of color and anti fascists in order to invoke fear," Antifa Seven Hills wrote.
The long post also claims that they did not know he was a reporter, suspected he was drunk, and thought his filming constituted incitement, justifying the assault.
"This is what happens when you make people feel scared and purposefully incite anger," the post reads.
The group also justified their actions by identifying themselves with Heather Heyer, who died in Charlottesville, Va. over the weekend when a man drove into a crowd of protesters, prompting the Justice Department to open a civil rights investigation.
"We will repeat," the post reads. "This march was for our comrade Heather Heyer who was murdered by white supremacists and this white man ran up on people aggressively and trolled a grieving crowd. Think about that."
Antifa argued that the media does not have a right to report on them in ways they do not consent to.
"Media you do not have the right to treat us this way," the post reads. "We are not your spectacle to profit off of. You are very often disrespectful and aggressive and we you will be met with the same behavior. If you don't want to get hit don't act like vultures. Ask for consent."
"CBS 6 is basically a gossip rag and is completely useless," the post adds.
"While the rest of the world celebrates ANTIFA, anarchists and militant anti racism Richmond decided to continue to demonize and intimidate upon our return home," the post reads. "We were already exhausted and angry so imagine how we feel now."