Martin Gugino, the 75-year-old man who Buffalo police knocked to the ground during a protest, only had one comment after President Donald Trump promoted a conspiracy theory about him on Twitter — "Black Lives Matter."
"No comment other than Black Lives Matter," Gugino told The Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, in a text. "Just out of the ICU. Should recover eventually. Thx."
His comment came after Trump posted a tweet, citing the right-wing One America News Network Monday and claiming: "Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75-year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment.”
"I watched, he fell harder than was pushed," the president said. "Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?"
In footage released from Niagara Square in Buffalo on June 4, Gugino is seen approaching officers before several ordered him to move, with one pushing him to the ground. As he laid there with blood coming from his right ear, several police officers walked past him.
The police department has suspended two officers without pay.
Both Democrats and Republicans slammed Trump over his tweet about Gugino, reports The Hill.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Trump's accusation was a "serious" claim that "should only be made with facts and evidence" that have not yet been seen.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a frequent critic of Trump's said he would not "dignify" the president's "shocking" tweet "with any further comment."
New York's Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo also slammed Trump's remarks as "reprehensible" and demanded he "apologize for that tweet."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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