A single teenager Black Lives Matter protester was harassed and allegedly assaulted by a group of men after she decided to walk through an "All Lives Matter redneck biker protest" holding a BLM sign.
Video footage taken last Sunday (June 14) in a town called Bethel in Ohio shows 19-year-old Riley attempting to walk around while carrying a sign that says Black Lives Matter.
Taking to Twitter on June 14, she wrote:
"'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."
However, less than three hours later, Riley revealed in an update to her 29,000 followers that she was allegedly assaulted while carrying her sign. She wrote:
"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 f**k when I was screaming at him."
Footage of Riley walking on the sidewalk carrying her sign later surfaced on social media - the first showing people shouting at the teenager and aggressively getting in her face and blocking her path.
In another video, a man rips Riley's sign from her hands, as she claims a group of men "beat her up". Video footage of any attack cannot be seen, but Riley does appear from around the corner holding the side of her face and one man can be seen shoving her with one hand.
The footage can be seen below:The woman behind the camera can also be heard saying: "He hit her."
In both videos, police officers can be seen not intervening, apart from directing Riley away from the group.
Footage from another demonstration in Bethal also appears to show the same man that ripped the sign from Riley sucker-punch a male BLM protester from behind.
Twitter users were quick to identify the individual as Johnnie B. Devault - and a Facebook post later revealed that police had issued a press released asking the public to help locate the man.
After sharing the videos, Riley was flooded with support:
According to The Sun, there were around 10 incidents in total amid demonstrations on June 14, the Village of Bethel said in a statement.
Bethel – a town with a population of around 2,700 – saw around 800 demonstrators on Sunday.
This comes as unrest continues to unfold across the US, as protests - some peaceful, some violent - are calling out the systemic injustices carried out against people of color, not least seen by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
As well as a call for justice, these ongoing protests are also demanding an end to police brutality and the racism that is so deeply entrenched in America and the western world.
The message is simple: Black lives matter.
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