“I Was Absolutely Afraid”: Indigenous Elder on “Mob Mentality” of MAGA Hat-Wearing Students in D.C. | Democracy Now!
'We thought, there at the march, that the best thing to do was to ignore the Black Israelites the best we could and to pray for them or for their actions there on the Mall. We really didn't understand their presence there and harassing us, but we just went ahead on with our rally. Then things started escalating between the Black Israelites and the [white] youth. When it got to about 200 youth, and the screaming and the hollerings … I was absolutely afraid. There was a group of over 200 young angry white men who were displaying mob mentality. And they were facing down just four black individuals. And it was coming to a point where just a snap of the finger could have caused them kids to descend on those four individuals. … I wasn't focusing on anybody except taking the youth out of there, the indigenous youth that was with me, out of that situation. And that's when Mr. Sandmann stood in front of me and blocked my—blocked my path'