- On Sunday, a Twitter user alleged a man seen in a video taken at a protest in Columbus, Ohio, was “paying people to riot and destroy public property.”
- Two hours later, the Columbus Police Department tweeted that the man was “a person of interest” they were interested in talking to.
- On Monday, President Donald Trump tweeted a clip from the video, writing “Anarchists, we see you!”
- Police have since indicated the man has been identified, but his attorney claimed he was being misrepresented.
- “CPD shared an edited video from an unreliable and heavily biased source,” Attorney Taylor Waters said in a statement to NBCi. “The poster removed the portion of the video which clearly demonstrates a request for supplies.”
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Police in Columbus, Ohio, say they have identified a “person of interest” that Twitter users allege paid protestors to destroy property.
President Donald Trump labeled the unnamed man an “anarchist’ in a tweet on Monday.
Shortly after 8:30 am on Sunday, Twitter user @DeepSouthProud posted footage of a protester across from the Short North restaurant the Guild House.
In the video, the man is wearing all black and can be heard directing people to “go get everything you can find,” including three picnic tables.
The video identified him as a member of the anti-fascist movement Antifa. In her tweet, @DeepSouthProud said witnesses saw him “paying people to riot and destroy public property.”
—Angela.Kay (@DeepSouthProud) May 31, 2020
Within two hours, the Columbus Police Department retweeted the video, thanking @DeepSouthProud and labeling the man as a “person of interest.”
“We’d like to speak with this man,” the tweet said. “Anyone with information on who he is or how to get in contact with him please call Columbus Police at 614-645-4545.”
—Columbus Ohio Police (@ColumbusPolice) May 31, 2020
Later that day, the CPD tweeted the individual had been “identified.”
On Monday, President Trump tweeted a short clip of the protestor, with the caption, “Anarchists, we see you!”
—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2020
At one point the man, who has not been publicly named, was misidentified on Twitter as Aaron Dessner, lead singer of the band The Nationals.
—FortWorthPlayboy (@FWPlayboy) May 31, 2020
On Twitter, Dressner said he hadn’t been in Ohio since 2019, NME reported.
“However, I do fully support peaceful protests and activism against endemic racism and racially motivated violence in this country, which somehow continues generation after generation after generation.”
Attorney Taylor Waters, who initially represented the protester, told NBC4i he was unfairly represented in the clip. Her client was not inciting violence, she said, merely seeking supplies to help people who had been injured by police.
“The photos and videos CPD previously shared regarding a person of interest were inaccurate and reckless,” Waters said in a statement. “CPD shared an edited video from an unreliable and heavily biased source. The poster removed the portion of the video which clearly demonstrates a request for supplies.”
“He did not pay anyone to cause property damage, break any law, or otherwise cause civil unrest,” she added.
Waters said her client has been the target of threats “and fears for his and his family’s safety.”
Since her statement, the man has hired new legal representation. Business Insider has reached out to both the CPD his attorney for comment.
After demonstrators stormed the Ohio Statehouse on Thursday, and in the Short North Arts District were vandalized, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther announced a citywide curfew on Saturday from 10 pm to 6 am.
On Sunday the Columbus Police Department temporarily halted traffic downtown as the Ohio National Guard was called in to rebuff protestors from venturing downtown.
