Anti-racism protests in Utah over the weekend took a weird turn when Brandon McCormick, who drove to the protests with a bow and arrow, tried to shoot at protesters as he chanted “All lives matter”.
In a 37-second video that has now been watched over 15 million times on Twitter, McCormick is seen fixing his arrow as the presumed recorder asked him, “You call yourself an American?”.
“Yes, I’m an American and all lives matter!” spat McCormick as he aimed at protesters. No sooner had he taken his aim than he was overpowered by many of the protesters.
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The video, as seen below, contains violence:
He seemed to have been beaten by people of all colors but when McCormick spoke to a local news channel, he told a different story.
“Did someone hit you with something?” asked the reporter.
“Yes,” responded McCormick. “Two black African-Americans. They beat me through my open window that I yelled “All lives matter,”” he continued.
He also said his car was turned over and lit up just because of his slogan-cheering. He did, however, slip in quickly that he “pulled out weapons then I got beat up some more.”
“I lost everything coming down here and trying to protect them [police officers] with what weapons I had because I am a changed [indistinct] I have changed my life.”
But video evidence showed he was only attacked when he threatened to shoot protesters. There is another video of McCormick, presumably from the same day of his attack, where he is wielding a machete.
In the second video, McCormick can be seen but not heard, as he crossed the road, visibly angry and shouting at some person(s). The video is as shown but please note it contains strong language:
Protests have been going on across major cities in the United States for nearly a week after former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin was seen in a video kneeling on the neck of George Floyd who died shortly afterward.
Protesters have noted that the death of Floyd, who had been handcuffed while Chauvin knelt on his neck, adds up to historical injustice aimed at black people by American police.
