ALBUQUERQUE, NM – With as upside down as the world has felt lately with frivolous charges enacted against individuals who seemingly engaged in justified instances of self-defense, at least some justice is prevailing.
Good. The people deserved it for assaulting the guy. That was self defense from a deadly weapon.
Now when can we expect charges against those that attacked the man?https://t.co/1Y8FyOeyI8
— Beyond the Echo Chamber (@Beyond_the_Echo) June 20, 2020
Steven Ray Baca, the man who initially had charges brought against him in shooting a protester who violently attacked him on camera, has had the charges against him dropped.
When mainstream media outlets first started reporting on the shooting incident that took place when a group of vandals were working to destroy a statue, those left-leaning outlets were far too ecstatic to showcase a man shooting one of those “peaceful protesters.”
The purported victim from June 15th during the Albuquerque incident was initially be touted as a man by the name of Scott Williams, who was undeniably shot by Baca. An amalgamation of vandals guised as protesters were in the midst of trying to remove a statue of Spanish conqueror Juan de Oñate when the conflict erupted.
We just obtained video of the shooting. pic.twitter.com/yjB6NHdKe2
— Megan Abundis (@meganrabundis) June 16, 2020
Despite desperate attempts by far-left protesters that support the idea of commencing vandalism and then attacking people, the charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon were dropped. There were images circulating online showcasing what appears to be a knife in one of the attackers assaulting Baca on the video.
Williams not only hit Baca with his skateboard, he also pulled a knife on him. Self defense initiated.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. pic.twitter.com/NMsMqfWwiS
— Hydroxychloroquine & Zinc | COVID-19 Game Changers (@LukeMor19529310) June 17, 2020
According to Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez, the charges were pulled because there was still more to be investigated with regard to the case:
“There have been rumors on social media about what transpired in the final seconds before this and we are actively looking into those and whether or not this was justified. The reason he is not facing that charge right now is because this investigation is not complete.”
At least there’s some hope for the concept of self defense in this country.
This, however, is not the first instance of when “removing statues go wrong” – as there was a recent instance of a protester who was present during an illegal statue removal getting nearly killed by way of the toppling of a statue in Portsmouth, Virginia.
On June 10th, four statues were vandalized at a Confederate monument in Portsmouth.
As we have seen in other areas in recent days, the “protesters” started by spray painting the statues. This time, the vandalizing began after the Portsmouth NAACP president James Boyd and vice president Louie Gibbs were taken into custody.
The men were charged with trespassing and they were apparently released on a summons after about 30 minutes.
The smell of spray paint is once again filling the air as people tag the monument.
“Tear it down,” one person wrote.
“BLM,” wrote another. pic.twitter.com/pgKSQwF8lM
— Saleen Martin (@Saleen_Martin) June 11, 2020
The graffiti on the statues read things such as “Tear it down,” and “BLM,” for the Black Lives Matter organization. “Fuck Trump” was written on another.
— Saleen Martin (@Saleen_Martin) June 11, 2020
An American flag was lit on fire and placed at the monument.
Apparently, one of the rioters was “badly injured” when one of the damaged statues fell on top of his head.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
— geographyro (@geographyro) June 11, 2020
A man who identified himself as a “Black Lives Matter” activist but wouldn’t identify himself by his actual name and hid behind his mask talked to local news WAVY TV 10 regarding the injury.
Graphic video: Watch the moment a toppled Confederate soldier statue falls on a rioter, injuring him severely. This happened tonight in Portsmouth, Va. All the statues around the monument were beheaded before this accident. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/yv5j45Fd7j
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 11, 2020
He said:
“There was a gentleman directly in front of the statue and when the statue finally did get [torn down], it fully hit him in the head and we could see that his skull was actually showing.”
“He was convulsing on the ground and he lost quite an amount of blood. We’re just asking for everyone to pray for that man.”
All four have been beheaded tonight pic.twitter.com/uMRKFziPYb
— Saleen Martin (@Saleen_Martin) June 11, 2020
Eventually, all four of the statues were beheaded.
Police were given the order to stand down during the rioting.
Confederate monument in Portsmouth completely spray painted as police officers look on. @WAVY_News pic.twitter.com/MBCWySO35r
— Andy Fox (@AndyFoxWAVY) June 10, 2020
Local Black Lives Matter group 757 posted to Twitter that the “young man” who got hit in the head with part of the statue “coded out twice.” He’s apparently at Norfolk General trauma center.
Criminal idiots tear down a public statue.
Idiot gets hurt in the process.
Sounds like the idiot got what he deserved.— Rock (@phd95) June 11, 2020
The comments when the group asked for prayers were mixed between some saying they would send thoughts, and many others saying he got what he deserved.
There has been some speculation on Twitter that the man has died, but those reports haven’t been confirmed.
_
Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today? With so much “stuff” happening in the world on social media, it’s easy for things to get lost.
Make sure you click “following” and then click “see first” so you don’t miss a thing! (See image below.) Thanks for being a part of the LET family!