Name: Supporters of GOP Congressman Louie Gohmert, Dem opponent Hank Gilbert clash in downtown Tyler
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Supporters of GOP Congressman Louie Gohmert, Dem opponent Hank Gilbert clash in downtown Tyler

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2:31 PM on Jul 27, 2020 CDTUpdated Wednesday, July 29 at 6:13 p.m. to include details of a video provided by Gilbert’s campaign that show Campaign Manager Ryan Miller being assaulted. WASHINGTON — Opposing protests in Tyler turned violent Sunday afternoon when supporters of Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert clashed with supporters of his Democratic challenger in the town’s downtown square.One report from the event has been filed with the Tyler Police Department detailing an assault and robbery, according to department Public Information Officer Jenny Wells. No arrests have been made, and an investigation is underway, she said.Tyler rancher and businessman Hank Gilbert organized a 2 p.m. protest against the deployment of federal officers to quell Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Ore. That protest was met by a Back the Blue counterprotest organized for 12:30 p.m.Gilbert’s campaign manager, Ryan Miller, was assaulted by at least four members of the counterprotest and had his phone stolen, according to a statement from Gilbert’s campaign.Wells said Gilbert’s campaign reserved the space for its protest through Smith County, while the counterprotesters did not have a reservation but were still allowed to gather.“Gohmert’s supporters disrupted the rally by shouting, ‘Louie! Louie! Louie!’ repeatedly, including while Miller was being brutally attacked,” the statement said.Miller “sustained blows to the head and other parts of his body, as well as a large gash under his eye,” and a police report has been filed with the Tyler Police Department over the incident, according to the release.“Louie Gohmert needs to immediately denounce the violence that occurred in his name in downtown Tyler today,” Gilbert said in a statement following the incident. “When your armed thugs are shouting your name as they beat the hell out of a 21-year-old political operative, you need to get your people under control. Gohmert also needs to get his disgusting rhetoric under control, because, just like Donald Trump, the vitriol that spills out of his mouth leads to violence. This time, against a 21-year-old college kid.”In a Monday afternoon statement responding to the incident, Gohmert labeled the protesters organized by Gilbert “extremists” who wanted to “bring the violent protests and riots we’ve seen around the country to our peaceable area here in East Texas.”Gohmert also went on to point to scenes of violent clashes between police and protesters in Portland, Ore., asking “why anyone of sound mind would want to support and replicate these violent activities in Tyler.”“I have no firsthand knowledge of what went on, because I was not there, did not organize it, didn’t know about it until it was taking place, and I was going to catch a plane back to Washington,” he said. “But, what came to my mind is the violence Democrat leaders paid to create at Trump campaign events in 2016, followed by Democrats then claiming Donald Trump incited violence.“They created the mess, then blamed candidate Trump. There are Democrats and Marxists doing the same thing this year as well. It is difficult to tell, from what I understand today, who started what.”Gohmert said he does not condone any violence, which is “why I supported President Trump’s efforts to stop the rioting, violence, vandalism and mayhem being created and encouraged by violent Leftists around the country.”Gilbert voiced dismay at Gohmert’s response to the violence, accusing him of “outlandish lies.”“That he won’t condemn his supporters actions in beating the hell out of a college kid just disgusts me, and breaks my heart,” Gilbert said in a statement Monday afternoon. “[Miller is] a good kid, and he didn’t deserve what happened to him. [Louie Gohmert], in his remarks today, basically said that my supporters deserved whatever violence came our way. No, we did not, Louie. You’re wrong.”Video of protests by the Tyler Morning Telegraph.Gohmert’s supporters, waving Blue Lives Matter flags and donning hats and shirts supporting President Donald Trump, appeared to greatly outnumber Gilbert’s supporters.Many of Gilbert’s supporters skipped the event after seeing the large counterprotest already underway when they arrived at the square at 2 p.m., Gilbert said in a statement.As Gilbert spoke to the crowd, members of the counterprotest inched closer to Gilbert and his supporters despite calls from Gilbert and his supporters to maintain a socially distant 6-feet of separation amid the coronavirus pandemic.“If you’re a true American patriot, if you believe in the Constitution, if you believe what many of our relatives died for to protect, then you need to be upset that our local police are not able to do their jobs because we have unidentified agents of the federal government posing as military who are invading our cities,” Gilbert told the crowd Sunday as he was surrounded by counterprotesters, one of whom waved a rifle in the air behind Gilbert as he spoke. “I just ask that all of you respect one another and that God look over all of us and protect and serve all of us, because we are a godly group of people, even if we don’t act like it.”Gilbert said he was requesting investigations from the Texas Rangers and the FBI over why “100 armed thugs descended on the square,” accusing the counterprotesters of premeditated violence to disrupt the event.Gilbert also said Tyler Police Department officers failed to act when the incident turned violent and asked the city of Tyler to investigate the department’s response.Wells said officers were present at the square for the event, but they observed the event from patrol cars before moving in because of ongoing concerns over crowds during the coronavirus pandemic.More than 1,600 comments have been left on the Morning Telegraph’s Facebook post of the video, with supporters of each protest accusing the other of instigating the violence.Caroline Artimire, whose father, Eric Artimire, was filmed and , including Tyler resident Paul Benson, said in a Facebook post that Miller was injured when he tripped and was not beaten.Video of Miller provided by Gilbert’s campaign shows Miller walking through a crowd and mouthing “I need help” toward the camera before being punched in the side of the head by an unidentified man. The man takes several more swings at Miller before he can get away. Miller then turns back shouting “they have my phone.”In a video posted by Gilbert’s campaign, Miller said a group of men had stolen his phone before the assault.Gilbert’s campaign also responded Monday to Artimire’s version of events, calling them lies.“Miss Artimire is nothing more than a liar lying for attention, and trying to divert attention from the fact that her father, Eric Artimire, is likely to spend the next few years of his life in prison for choking out Paul Benson, who said and did nothing to her. Her entire story is a quilt sewn together with the thinnest thread of lies,” Gilbert spokesman Vince Leibowitz said.Receive the latest political news delivered every Tuesday and Thursday from reporters in Austin, Dallas and Washington.By signing up you agree to our

2:31 PM on Jul 27, 2020 CDTUpdated Wednesday, July 29 at 6:13 p.m. to include details of a video provided by Gilbert’s campaign that show Campaign Manager Ryan Miller being assaulted. WASHINGTON — Opposing protests in Tyler turned violent Sunday afternoon when supporters of Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert clashed with supporters of his Democratic challenger in the town’s downtown square.One report from the event has been filed with the Tyler Police Department detailing an assault and robbery, according to department Public Information Officer Jenny Wells. No arrests have been made, and...

Supporters of GOP Congressman Louie Gohmert, Dem opponent Hank Gilbert clash in downtown Tyler

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