A man seen in a viral video getting hit in the groin with a pepper ball shot during an anti-Trump protest in Phoenix, Arizona, last week is facing charges of aggravated assault after kicking a tear gas canister at police.
According to the Daily Mail, police arrested 29-year-old Joshua Cobin and charged him with three counts of aggravated assault against police and one count of unlawful assembly.
Cobin identified himself on Reddit as the man seen in the video, and he said that he isn’t an Antifa member and was not supporting violence against the police or President Donald Trump, the Daily Caller reported.
Police said they broke up the protest when rocks and water bottles started being thrown at them. Authorities said that Cobin admitted his involvement in the incident on Reddit.
(Reddit)
“The pepper ball shot missed Major Johnson by 3 inches north so all I have is some bruising in the groin area,” Cobin wrote.
According to a police report, Cobin was “generally unruly and clearly refusing to disperse and refusing to do so in an unlawful manner.”
Police also said Cobin was “engaging in conduct constituting a riot” prior to kicking the canister.
[revad2]
