A Donald Trump protester was choked, punched, and kicked repeatedly during a Trump rally. Mercutio Southall Jr. was heard shouting “Black Lives Matter” and “dump the Trump,” so multiple supporters of Trump shoved the activist down and beat him up while being recorded on video. Trump did not stop his speech, instead telling the “obnoxious” Black Lives Matter protester to get “the hell out of here.”
In a related report by the Inquisitr , three months ago a security guard was accused of slapping another Donald Trump protester .
The 31-year-old Mercutio Southall Jr. was apparently one of three Black Lives Matter protesters who attempted to disrupt Trump’s speech at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. According to the Montgomery Advertiser , staff members asked the three black men to stop antagonizing the crowd, but only two out of three complied with the request.
“The guy was being disruptive,” the staff member said, describing Southall’s actions. “He was doing the Black Lives Matter thing and saying other phrases that were really firing up the crowd around him. He was throwing his hands around almost punching.”
For his part, Southall says the incident began when one of the Trump supporters knocked the smartphone out of the hand of another Black Lives Matter supporter.
“I’m recording this live from the BJCC because we want Donald Trump to know he’s not welcome here,” he said.
The Trump supporters allegedly called the black men “monkeys” and told them to “go home, n****r,” before punching Southall.
In response, the Donald Trump protester punched back, admitting that he is not into the “turn the other cheek (expletive).” Both men and women began encircling him, and he was being punched and pushed from all direction. When he was knocked to the ground, the Trump supporters began kicking him on the ground.
“I got enough people off of me that I was able to get up a little bit,” he said, according to AL.com . “Somebody got behind me and started trying to choke me out.”
The Secret Service eventually arrived to escort Southall out of the building. The Black Lives Matter protester struggled the whole way and walked out of the auditorium with his middle finger extended at the crowd. During this time, Trump encouraged the removal of his protester.
“Get him out of here! Yeah you can get him out,” Trump said to applause by the crowd. “Get him the hell out of here.”
Staff member defend the way the Donald Trump protester was treated, saying it was a “security issue” since Southall was “intentionally antagonizing the crowd.” No one was arrested, and no one was charged with crimes related to the fight.
In an interview with Mercutio Southall, the Black Lives Matter activist says he is upset that the Secret Service was trying to protect the crowd from him.
“Where were you when they were attacking me and choking me?” he asked. “We’re not the Negros from the 60s. I believe in defending myself, defending my people and sticking up for my people. I’m not violent. I’m not out threatening to blow up people. Self-preservation is an instinct every creature has and we deserve respect.”
The man also complained that every time he goes somewhere that it seems like they are trying to beat him up or tase him or kill him. Southall hopes to get retribution against the white people who attacked him, and he says he would support a police investigation into the Trump rally fight video. He also believes criminal charges should be applied.
“I would love for them to experience a little bit of what I go through,” he said. “I’m all for that.”
A black protester at Trump’s rally today in Alabama was shoved, tackled, punched & kicked: https://t.co/Aq0wuaAtax pic.twitter.com/cTRDMtjuBl
— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) November 21, 2015
[Image via AP Images]
