A Democratic state senator in Wisconsin said he was attacked by protesters near the state Capitol as demonstrations turned violent.
State Sen. Tim Carpenter told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was on his way to work late Tuesday when he stopped to take photos of the protesters.
“I don’t know what happened … all I did was stop and take a picture … and the next thing I’m getting five-six punches, getting kicked in the head,” he said.
Carpenter said his eyesight is blurry, he has a sore neck and ribs, and may also have a concussion.
“This has to stop before some innocent person get[s] killed,” he tweeted early Wednesday.
This is the picture that got me assaulted and beat up by a mob. Punched & kicked in the head. Might have concussion, left eye a little blurry, cheek shollen, sore neck and ribs. This has to stop before some innocent person get killed. I locked up in the Capitol until it’s safe
— Tim Carpenter (@TimCarpenterMKE) June 24, 2020
But protesters argued that the senator provoked them. It’s not clear what was said between demonstrators and Carpenter before the situation escalated to violence. A 12-second video taken by Carpenter showed two protesters running toward him and demanding that he stop recording.
“Leave my phone alone,” he said as a protester grabbed the device.
WKOW reporter Lance Veeser later tweeted a photo of Carpenter on the ground.
“He collapsed walking towards the Capitol. We called paramedics. An ambulance is here now,” Veeser said.
I took this pic- it got me assaulted & beat up. Punched/kicked in the head, neck, ribs. Maybe concussion, socked in left eye is little blurry, sore neck & ribs. 8-10 people attacked me. Innocent people are going to get killed. Capitol locked- stuck in office.Stop violence nowPlz! pic.twitter.com/Zw2hdfYG66
— Tim Carpenter (@TimCarpenterMKE) June 24, 2020
Protesters took to the streets Tuesday after the arrest of a black activist earlier in the day, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Devonere Johnson was arrested after entering a restaurant in Madison’s Capitol Square area with a megaphone and baseball bat, the report said. Video of the arrest showed Johnson appearing to resist arrest. At least three officers held him down on the ground.
The demonstrations later became violent as protesters smashed windows near the Capitol and pulled down two statues that stood outside the statehouse. A statue of Col. Hans Christian Heg, an abolitionist who died fighting for the Union during the Civil War, was beheaded and thrown into a lake, WKOW reported. Another statue meant as an “allegory of devotion and progress” was also removed from its base.
