SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Members and allies of the detransitioner community met in front of the California State Capitol here Friday ahead of Detrans Awareness Day. Attendees included notable detrans activists, such as Abel Garcia.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California has become a hot spot in recent years for radical activists and politicians seeking to provide quick and unfettered access for youth and others to what they describe as “gender affirming care.”
Just prior to the rally, a group of over 40 counter protestors gathered cattycorner to the demonstration.
Clad in black garb, grasping makeshift shields, and other Antifa-like paraphernalia, the protestors carried a banner, reading “NO MORE DEAD TRANSWOMEN.” They shouted, “The trans are under attack. What do we do? … Fight back!”
A flyer advertising the protests promised a “TRANS DAY OF RAGE,” and slandered prominent detrans activists, such as Chloe Cole, one of that day’s speakers, labeling her supporters as “Astro-turfed gang of transphobes.”
Andrew Sheeler of the Sacramento Bee described the rally as the, “latest front in the conservative culture war on transgender people.”
I was in Sacramento covering the rally when I saw the crowd of Antifa members over in the distance. I approached the “black bloc” right before the event began and started filming.
Within less than five minutes of arriving on the scene, a man, dressed head-to-toe in black clothing, wearing a baseball helmet, goggles and mask, lunged out from the crowd. He hit me in the arm with what I assumed was a bat or some other blunt object.
Most of the events were caught on tape.
I immediately recoiled, fell back to the police line and explained to law enforcement what just happened.
You can hear the streamer from Oreo Express’s reaction, “Just hit that guy.” He then turned to the police saying, “You just watched him pull something out. You’ve known about this for how many weeks?”
The officer responded, “I’m working on it, guys. I’m working on it.”
Amazingly, the assault, which happened in broad daylight right in front of Sacramento cops went seemingly unnoticed in the moment.
Directly after, you can hear one man off to the side saying aloud to the police, “You just witnessed a couple of 254s in front of you. You’re here to apply the law.”
California Penal Code 254 is felony assault with a deadly weapon or instrument, which can carry up to four years in prison.
While covering the protest, I did not see any members of the Sacramento Police Department or California Highway Patrol intervene or disperse the violent crowd.
Eventually the black bloc moved off, heading further downtown.
After reporting the assault to a California Highway Patrol officer, I was later contacted by a member of the Sacramento Police Department. The officer relayed to me that I was not the only person harmed by counter protestors at that day’s event. Two other people were assaulted, one suffering a seemingly traumatic blow to the head.
One person was arrested for assault related charges. It is unclear whether this individual was the same man who struck me.
Having lived in our nation’s capital for the past six years, I’ve seen my fair share of unruly crowds. From the inauguration of President Donald Trump to the death of George Floyd to the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, the radical Left has become increasingly more emboldened, straddling the line between peaceful assembly and violent mob.
But not once did I ever think that these groups would feel so empowered and assault a member of the media, in broad day light, in front of police and face no repercussion in the moment.
