The protester who was shoved to the ground by police officers in Buffalo, New York, is an anti-nuclear activist who criticized the Trump administration on social media.
Martin Gugino, the 75-year-old man pushed down by police last Thursday during a George Floyd protest in front of the Buffalo City Hall, is reportedly a liberal activist and ardent supporter of Kings Bay Plowshares, a group of anti-nuclear activists who were convicted for entering a military submarine in Georgia.
“He’s a gentle person who really believes that he must stand up for what he thinks is right,” Terrence Bisson, a friend and former colleague of Gugino’s, told the Buffalo News. “That’s why he went to the demonstration. He would never resist physically any kind of orders. He’s a bit frail, not because of his age. He has some health problems.”
On social media, Gugino was often political, voicing opposition to President Trump and sympathies for recent police brutality protests following the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man.
“I think it’s fair to say that the Trump presidency has been a complete failure. The Democrats could have helped more. Have to say that,” he tweeted on Thursday evening hours before the incident, commenting on remarks made by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Venezuela.
“Protests are exempt from curfews because Congress (and mayors) may make no laws that abridge the right of the people peaceably to assemble and complain to the government. The government should receive the complaint with thanks, not arrest the people or beat them,” Gugino also said Thursday afternoon about protests amid the coronavirus pandemic.
WIVB News 4 Buffalo reported Gugino was left in serious but not critical condition, suffering a laceration and a possible concussion. He is still in the hospital recovering from the incident.
Gugino was involved in activism on several social and diplomatic topics, including global warming, nuclear disarmament, and Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. He reportedly had a YouTube channel devoted to discussing those issues with his 35 followers.
On Tuesday morning, Trump speculated on Twitter that Gugino was an “ANTIFA provocateur,” asking followers if the incident was a “set up.” The two officers involved in Gugino’s injuries were immediately suspended following the event and were later charged with second-degree assault.
Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2020
In response, Kelly Zarcone, Gugino’s lawyer, called Trump’s claims “dark, dangerous, and untrue.”
“Martin has always been a PEACEFUL protestor because he cares about today’s society. He is also a typical Western New Yorker who loves his family. No one from law enforcement has even suggested anything otherwise so we are at a loss to understand why the President of the United States would make such dark, dangerous, and untrue accusations against him,” Zarcone said in a statement.
