Police officers in Buffalo, New York walk by the motionless body of 75-year-old Martin Gugino as he bleeds from his ear after being attack attacked by officers during a protest on June 5, 2020. (Photo: Screengrab/WBFO)
'Truly Despicable': Critics Pounce After Trump Tweets Conspiracy Theories About 75-Year-Old Victim of Police Brutality Martin Gugino
"Trump blames victim of police brutality for police brutality."
President Donald Trump came under fire Tuesday morning after tweeting out a conspiracy theory charging that 75-year-old Martin Gugino, whose assault by Buffalo police last week resulted in his continued hospitalization, was a member of an ill-defined left-wing group and suggested he faked his injuries.
"Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur," the president tweeted, adding that Gugino--who immediately began bleeding from his ear after being violently shoved by officers Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe--"fell harder than was pushed."
"Wow, Donald Trump in effect stomps on a 75-year-old peace activist who was pushed by police, fell over backward to the ground, and started bleeding from the head," tweeted journalist Steve Greenhouse in reply. "Wow, what an amazingly un-compassionate president we have."
Gugino remains in the hospital in serious but stable condition.
"No one should be assaulted by the police in this way," Intercept journalist Jeremy Scahill said on Twitter. "But for the record, this 75-year-old is a pacifist Catholic Worker who dedicated his life to nonviolence, serving the poor, living the Sermon on the Mount, and fighting for justice in the spirit of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin."
As Common Dreams reported last week, the assault on the longtime, well known Buffalo activist was caught on camera and resulted in the suspension and charging of Torgalski and McCabe. The remaining 57 members of the Emergency Response Team then resigned from their positions on the unit in solidarity with the two officers.
"Trump blames victim of police brutality for police brutality," said journalist Windsor Mann.
The president's endorsement of a conspiracy theory around Gugino's injuries appears to use arguments from a segment on far-right news channel One America News Network, itself citing a blog called Conservative Treehouse.
Critics of the president took issue instantly with the baseless allegations against Gugino and Trump's excuse for the violence.
"Takes a lot for a Trump tweet to be genuinely shocking at this point," tweeted The Hill's Niall Stanage. "And yet, here we are."
"Not much going on here," said Intercept senior editor Peter Maas, "just a racist far-right conspiracy-theorist who's president of the U.S. and about 40 percent of the electorate are going to vote for him in November."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
President Donald Trump came under fire Tuesday morning after tweeting out a conspiracy theory charging that 75-year-old Martin Gugino, whose assault by Buffalo police last week resulted in his continued hospitalization, was a member of an ill-defined left-wing group and suggested he faked his injuries.
"Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur," the president tweeted, adding that Gugino--who immediately began bleeding from his ear after being violently shoved by officers Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe--"fell harder than was pushed."
"Wow, Donald Trump in effect stomps on a 75-year-old peace activist who was pushed by police, fell over backward to the ground, and started bleeding from the head," tweeted journalist Steve Greenhouse in reply. "Wow, what an amazingly un-compassionate president we have."
Gugino remains in the hospital in serious but stable condition.
"No one should be assaulted by the police in this way," Intercept journalist Jeremy Scahill said on Twitter. "But for the record, this 75-year-old is a pacifist Catholic Worker who dedicated his life to nonviolence, serving the poor, living the Sermon on the Mount, and fighting for justice in the spirit of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin."
As Common Dreams reported last week, the assault on the longtime, well known Buffalo activist was caught on camera and resulted in the suspension and charging of Torgalski and McCabe. The remaining 57 members of the Emergency Response Team then resigned from their positions on the unit in solidarity with the two officers.
"Trump blames victim of police brutality for police brutality," said journalist Windsor Mann.
The president's endorsement of a conspiracy theory around Gugino's injuries appears to use arguments from a segment on far-right news channel One America News Network, itself citing a blog called Conservative Treehouse.
Critics of the president took issue instantly with the baseless allegations against Gugino and Trump's excuse for the violence.
"Takes a lot for a Trump tweet to be genuinely shocking at this point," tweeted The Hill's Niall Stanage. "And yet, here we are."
"Not much going on here," said Intercept senior editor Peter Maas, "just a racist far-right conspiracy-theorist who's president of the U.S. and about 40 percent of the electorate are going to vote for him in November."
President Donald Trump came under fire Tuesday morning after tweeting out a conspiracy theory charging that 75-year-old Martin Gugino, whose assault by Buffalo police last week resulted in his continued hospitalization, was a member of an ill-defined left-wing group and suggested he faked his injuries.
"Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur," the president tweeted, adding that Gugino--who immediately began bleeding from his ear after being violently shoved by officers Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe--"fell harder than was pushed."
"Wow, Donald Trump in effect stomps on a 75-year-old peace activist who was pushed by police, fell over backward to the ground, and started bleeding from the head," tweeted journalist Steve Greenhouse in reply. "Wow, what an amazingly un-compassionate president we have."
Gugino remains in the hospital in serious but stable condition.
"No one should be assaulted by the police in this way," Intercept journalist Jeremy Scahill said on Twitter. "But for the record, this 75-year-old is a pacifist Catholic Worker who dedicated his life to nonviolence, serving the poor, living the Sermon on the Mount, and fighting for justice in the spirit of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin."
As Common Dreams reported last week, the assault on the longtime, well known Buffalo activist was caught on camera and resulted in the suspension and charging of Torgalski and McCabe. The remaining 57 members of the Emergency Response Team then resigned from their positions on the unit in solidarity with the two officers.
"Trump blames victim of police brutality for police brutality," said journalist Windsor Mann.
The president's endorsement of a conspiracy theory around Gugino's injuries appears to use arguments from a segment on far-right news channel One America News Network, itself citing a blog called Conservative Treehouse.
Critics of the president took issue instantly with the baseless allegations against Gugino and Trump's excuse for the violence.
"Takes a lot for a Trump tweet to be genuinely shocking at this point," tweeted The Hill's Niall Stanage. "And yet, here we are."
"Not much going on here," said Intercept senior editor Peter Maas, "just a racist far-right conspiracy-theorist who's president of the U.S. and about 40 percent of the electorate are going to vote for him in November."