Footage of an angry MAGA supporting woman reaching for a firearm at a peaceful protest has gone viral online as many claim it is demonstrative of the right’s tendency towards violence.
The video in question comes from one of the many No Kings protests that took place across the U.S. over the weekend. The clip, made the rounds online and shows the woman involved in an altercation with others at the protest. Things quickly got heated and the woman reached for her gun which was holstered at her side.
Luckily she was stopped before she was able to do whatever it was she was planning to do with that weapon.
What is the context of the video?
The incident occurred at a protest in Pueblo, Colorado. Speaking to KRDO13, the man who tackled the rabid, gun-wielding, MAGA supporter, told reporters he saw the woman marching through the crowd and he tried to help direct her to where she wanted to go. The man, whose name is Brandon Martin, was acting as a police liaison for protesters at the event. If things went wrong it was his responsibility to inform the authorities.
Martin can be seen standing near the woman in the video. When things start getting heated and the woman reaches for her gun he steps in and tackles her.
“She hit and unbuckled her holster, and it was a two-button holster. So, bam, unbuttoned it. And, you can see in the video, my hands are up and I’m, I’m standing behind her and I’m just saying ma’am, please don’t do this.”
Martin has been hailed as a hero for his actions which quite possibly saved the lives of those attending. A similar instance in Utah saw a man lose his life after pulling an AR-15 out at a protest. Martin claimed he was particularly concerned for the elderly citizens nearby who wouldn’t be able to move if the woman started shooting, “they couldn’t really get up and move, they couldn’t be quick… I was like, well, if she even touches it, like, that’s the point. Like, I can’t risk it.”
Police confirmed that the woman had been arrested. They identified her as 54-year-old Laura Hall. Hall has been charged with “menacing with a deadly weapon and disrupting a lawful assembly.”
The response online
The clip gained quite a lot of attention on Reddit where the individual who shared the clip wrote, “Typical behavior from the violent right.” Others echoed the sentiment, writing, “But conservatives keep telling me it’s the radical lunatic left that is inciting violence.”
Others called out the woman’s intelligence, or lack thereof, for pulling out a weapon in such a setting. It does beg the question of whether she was looking for a confrontation in the first place. Either way, it’s a good thing the security volunteers were able to subdue her quickly otherwise someone could have gotten hurt.
