Protestor shoves police officer in US

Charlotte, June 9

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer who has met with and walked with demonstrators a number of times was involved in a scuffle Monday afternoon with protestors a day after he’d had another tense interaction.

Video shows CMPD Captain Brad Koch surrounded by chanting protestors Monday in front of the local government center before a white male protestor approaches and shoves him.

After being pushed, Koch took the man to the ground as more protestors were seen piling on. He was the only officer in the immediate vicinity.

No injuries were reported but in a tweet, CMPD said Koch was “assaulted in broad daylight” and is asking for the public’s help to identify those involved.

Koch has repeatedly walked with protesters through the city. He was pictured kneeling alongside them last week. The police department said in a tweet that he has walked more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) with protesters in recent days.

But his interactions haven’t been well-received by all protesters. Some say he isn’t welcome to march with them. — AP

Man who drove into Virginia protest is KKK leader, prosecutor says

Virginia prosecutors said on Monday a man facing charges for driving his pickup truck into racial equality protesters is a local leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

Harry H. Rogers, 36, was charged with assault and battery, malicious wounding and felony vandalism, the Henrico County police department said in statement on Monday.

The statement says Rogers on Sunday night drove through a crowd blocking a street near Richmond, Virginia, and protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody. One person was hit by Rogers’ vehicle, but not seriously injured.

Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor said in a statement on Monday that Rogers “by his own admission and by a cursory glance at social media, is an admitted leader of the Ku Klux Klan and a propagandist for Confederate ideology.”

The Richmond CBS TV affiliate WTVR aired archive footage it had of Rogers from past years, wearing KKK robes and waving a Confederate flag.

Taylor said prosecutors were investigating to see if hate crimes should be applied to the case.

It was not immediately known if Rogers has an attorney.

Separately on Monday, a man was charged with assault for shooting a demonstrator in Seattle after he drove his car up to a march and was surrounded by protesters, according to King County jail records.

Nikolas Fernandez was captured by a bystander’s video shooting a protester who had reached into his car. The protester was hit in the arm and treated at a hospital.

Fernandez quickly exited his vehicle and brandished a gun, then dashed through the crowd and turned himself over to police who were monitoring the rally.

Fernandez is being held on a $200,000 bond. — Agencies