Video: Man with BLM shirt tossed from Republican event in Green Valley, cited for misdemeanors
A man who wore a Black Lives Matter shirt to a Republican gathering last weekend in Green Valley claimed he was "attacked" and removed from the building before being cited by sheriff's deputies, according to local news sources.
A video shows the man, later confirmed by authorities as 73-year-old Peter Jackson, at the event held Saturday at a shopping center on Continental Road.
With a face mask on, a pin on his shirt that read "Fully Vaxxed" and a GoPro camera, Jackson tried to make his way further into the event before he was stopped and questioned, according to the video posted online on YouTube by Green Valley News.
The event was billed as a GOP candidate open mic kegger, according to the website for United Republicans Green Valley and Sahuarita. Not long after he arrived, organizers asked Jackson to leave and threatened to call police. The video shows that Jackson continued to stay.
The mood appeared to get tense as others move closer to Jackson and some shouted names at him. Jackson even called authorities on his cellphone and appeared to be speaking with a person.
At one point, a woman points her cellphone at Jackson, as if she's recording video, just before a confrontation erupts. The video becomes hard to see clearly as the camera shakes. But Jackson appeared to be taken to his knees on the floor and then removed from the room.
Jackson is then seen lying on his back on the sidewalk just outside of the event as others chastise him and accuse him of hitting a woman. The video ended before any law enforcement personnel arrived at the event.
When video playback is slowed down, the recording shows the woman holding the cellphone with her left hand, ball up her right fist and jab at Jackson. She swung a second time, and Jackson appeared to push away her wrist.
A scuffle ensued and U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters, who can be seen in the background, stepped up and appeared to put a hand on Jackson.
Pima County Sheriff's officials confirmed for The Arizona Republic just basic details, such as the incident date, location and person cited, and said no further information was available. A request for the incident report was sent to the sheriff's records department, according to Deputy Tyler Legg, a department spokesperson.
Jackson was cited and released on suspicion for misdemeanor trespassing and misdemeanor assault, according to Legg.
Blake Masters responds after scuffle
A spokesperson for Blake sent a brief statement to The Republic.
"A left-wing activist came to a Republican event, started harassing people, and then hit a woman. I intervened and put an end to that," Blake said in the statement. "He was subsequently detained by the police and cited for assault. Let me be clear: if you come to an event I'm at and attack a woman, it's going to be a bad day for you.”
Mick McGuire, another candidate in Arizona's five-way Republican Senate primary race, was there and commented:
"I'm grateful for the Pima County Sheriffs' swift response to help secure the event. ... I do not condone violence of any kind in our political process, period. It does not matter 'who hit first.' Our political climate must not be allowed to devolve into chaos."
Attempts to reach Jackson as well as other GOP candidates form the event were unsuccessful.
"I went in hoping to be allowed to witness the event and listen to the candidates and possibly share the video I was obviously taking," Jackson told the Green Valley News. "Post-event, I would like people to see that they’re not rational people. They’re really violent people. They’re people Americans should be concerned about."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man wearing BLM shirt removed from Green Valley GOP event
