A video journalist was terrorized and physically assaulted by Antifa supporters because he was documenting an “anti-eviction march” in Detroit.
Brandon Gutenschwager is an independent reporter who has developed a massive following on Twitter for his thorough coverage of protests and riots across the country — from Seattle to Washington, D.C., to Portland. Gutenschwager, who goes by @BGOnTheScene on Twitter, has had his on-the-ground footage featured on cable news programs.
On Saturday afternoon, Gutenschwager was in Detroit covering an anti-eviction march, which included Black Lives Matter supporters and reported Antifa members.
“Just got assaulted attempting to cover an anti-eviction march in Detroit this afternoon,” Gutenschwager wrote on Twitter, and included a video of the attack. “A member of the protest ‘security’ ran up, grabbed my camera and forced me against a building.”
Gutenschwager pointed out that the man who assaulted him was wearing an Antifa pin on his flannel shirt.
“A man wearing an Antifa pin committed the first assault during the march,” the photojournalist said. “Camera stopped a few times while he attempted to steal it. Eventually, others in the group urged him aside to release me from against the building.”
Another man at the march in the Greektown district of Detroit, who was wearing a “PRESS” patch, screamed at Gutenschwager, “You’re not f***ing welcome here!” Gutenschwager said the man “accosts me and tries to force me to leave.”
Because Gutenschwager was harassed, he was only able to capture very little of the actual anti-eviction march, but one video shows the crowd chanting, “Black homes are under attack, tell me what do we do, rise up fight back!”
While walking alongside the march that had Black Lives Matter flags, a man blindsided Gutenschwager and smashed him into the wall. Gutenschwager suffered injuries from the attack and was bleeding.
“Wow! I was just straight-up assaulted on the streets of Detroit,” he said on camera. “Straight-up assaulted!”
“A man rammed me against a concrete fence and barricade, bloodying my mouth and elbow as well as putting me in a chokehold while stealing my camera,” Gutenschwager tweeted. “That was then thrown over a fence, which I eventually was able to retrieve and continue recording.”
At this point, Gutenschwager decided to leave the event for his own safety.
“Praying no other reporters had to endure this while out today,” he said.
