Black Lives Protests are ongoing with full swing. But some of these protests are resulting in abuse and harassment.
In a town called Bethel, Ohio witnessed a similar situation on June 15. A teenage BLM protester was harassed and allegedly assaulted by a group of grown men. The teenage girl was walking around with a sign in hand saying “All Lives Matter”.
“All lives matter” redneck biker protest is going on in bethel and I’m about to take my little ass up there by myself with my black lives matter sign. Let’s see how this goes.
— ryley wrigglesworth (@rywriggs) June 14, 2020
Update: I got my sign ripped out of my hand, thrown against a wall and punched in the head for walking across a cross walk while a bethel police officer watched and tried to act like he gave a fuck when I was screaming at him. https://t.co/0rIeMYag4n
— ryley wrigglesworth (@rywriggs) June 14, 2020
What happened at BLM rally in Bethel?
A video was posted on Twitter by the teenager, Ryley Wrigglesworth. The video clearly shows that a group of men snatched the sign from the hands of the BLM protester. In one video it can be seen that people were shouting at the teenager an aggressively coming close to her face and pushing. No-one stepped in to help her or even to show their protest.
Someone got it on video. White men beating me up for walking with a blm sign https://t.co/k8SzvzmHo3 pic.twitter.com/Nb1D1UOJPD
— ryley wrigglesworth (@rywriggs) June 15, 2020
The woman behind the camera can also be heard saying: “He hit her.” The police officers can be seen looking at the situation but not intervening. In another video, a policeman directed her away from the grown men.
This shithead who assaulted this protester is also the man who ripped my sign. His name is Johnnie B Devault and he has a warrant out for his arrest!! https://t.co/9BhPu3V9Hz
— ryley wrigglesworth (@rywriggs) June 18, 2020
After these videos were released, people on Twitter supported Ryley and flooded her with overwhelming comments. Some of them even asked Wrigglesworth to file an official complaint.
Police action on the harassment
On Twitter, people immediately identified him as Johnnie B. Devault. Later, on Facebook, police issued a press release asking the public where he is stationed.
https://www.facebook.com/BethelOhio/posts/1516611605184866
At another counter-protest on Thursday, another rally was overwhelmed by the biker gang that seemed to have been involved in harassing Wigglesworth.
According to The Sun, there were around 10 incidents in total amid demonstrations on June 14, the Village of Bethel said in a statement.
The protests are unfurling in the USA and along with that, the harassment continues. Some of the protests are silent and peaceful but some are violent. These protests are demanding an end to police brutality and racism which has its roots more powerful than ever.
