Trump on the 75-year-old peaceful protester the cops shoved to the ground and left lying there with blood coming out of his ear. That protester, Martin Gugino, has a fractured skull and is still unable to walk:
Interesting that he calls the police soldiers…
Trump is basically saying, “he’s no angel, he deserved what he got .” It’s obvious he thinks Gugino is a some kind of subversive who has been provoking police. In fact, you’ll recall that he tweeted the altercation was staged.
Here’s the caliber of your president’s thinking:
Facebook posts have cast doubt on the altercation. One shows an image of the man, 75-year-old Martin Gugino, with his head on the ground. An arrow pointing to his ear says, “‘Blood’ coming from the front of ear.” An arrow pointing to his mask says, “Tube running from under mask.” An arrow pointing to the back of his head says, “No blood on sidewalk or back of head.”
Another Facebook post shows four stills from the video, the same image featured in the other Facebook post, and a photo with tubing, batteries and a fluids bag.
“The incident in Buffalo is fake!!!” this post says. “This guy has been arrested many times before. He was antagonizing the cops. The cop pushed him away from him and the guy purposely fell! Look at this fake blood he hooked himself up with!! My friend in Buffalo said the hotels in Buffalo are filled with Antifa and they plan a big attack in Buffalo and Cheektowaga. ! Pray!”
They’re also baseless. We found no indication this incident is “fake.”
In a statement published by Reuters, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said that the officers “pushed” Gugino outside of City Hall, “causing him to fall and hit his head on the sidewalk.” Flynn also said that Gugino was in critical condition at the Erie County Medical Center, where he was treated for a head injury, loss of consciousness and bleeding from the right ear.
You can watch the video of the incident here. It was taken by a reporter for WBFO, a local radio station. In the footage, Gugino is seen approaching a line of officers with a phone in his right hand and a helmet in his left. As he stands face-to-face with two officers, he looks like he’s talking to them for a few seconds as a third officer tells him to move. One of the officers then shoves Gugino with a baton and the other pushes him with his hand. Gugino stumbles backward and falls on his back. Blood starts seeping out of his ear and the phone falls from his hand as he lies motionless on the ground.
“He’s bleeding out of his ear,” someone says repeatedly. Though the image in the Facebook posts claims no blood spreads to the sidewalk or the back of his head, around the 14-second mark it’s visibly pooling there. This Reuters photo shows a different angle of the blood pooling at his head. While the video rolls, we see officers walking past Gugino as he lies on the pavement.
[…]
Police initially said that Gugino tripped and fell. John Evans, president of the Buffalo police union, told the Buffalo News that the officers were following orders to clear Niagara Square of people protesting the May death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis after an officer pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck.
“It doesn’t specify clear the square of men, 50 and under or 15 to 40,” Evans said. “They were simply doing their job. I don’t know how much contact was made. He did slip, in my estimation. He fell backwards.”
Prosecutors disagree. The district attorney has stated clearly that his office believes officers pushed Gugino and caused him to fall and hit his head.
On June 9, President Donald Trump amplified the conspiracy theory about Gugino when he tweeted: “
He obviously still believes this.