Anthony Brennan III is charged for attacking racial activists in a national park.
What We Know:
- The Maryland-National Capital Park Police said on Friday that Anthony Brennan III, of Kensington, Md., has been charged with three counts of second-degree assault.
- A video of the 60-year-old man shows him attacking three young activists. The teens were hanging flyers of George Floyd at Capital Crescent Trail in Montgomery County, when Brennan jumped off his bicycle and went after the teens.
- In the video, which has over 30 million views on Twitter, Brennan charged towards a teen girl. People can be heard yelling, “leave her alone” and “do not touch her”. He then aggressively tried to rip a flyer out of another girl’s hand, before ramming his bicycle into the man recording the assault and spewing profanities.
This grown a*s man just did this to a little girl who was posting flyers in support of George Floyd. This is sick. No grown man has the right to touch children, ever. https://t.co/gxUZ3fFpmf
— Frank Giugliano (@nyccookies) June 4, 2020
- Brennan’s attorneys released an apology statement to the website DCIST. “I am committed to making amends by addressing, through counseling, the underlying issues that led to my abhorrent behavior,” Brennan said. “I am dedicated to working with the Montgomery County State Attorney’s Office to provide peace to our community and justice to the victims in the video, as well as to all victims of racism and police brutality.”
- There have been similar reports of racial activists being assaulted in other cities for protesting in their communities. The nation has been in an uproar in response to the killing of George Floyd last month when a Minneapolis Police Officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck. The video of the incident went viral and has also sparked international protests over police brutality and racial injustice.
A second-degree assault charge is a misdemeanor in Maryland. If convicted, Brennan may be incarcerated for a maximum of 10 years with a penalty of $2,500 for each count.
