Trump supporter charged for spitting, coughing on Black Lives Matter protester
A police officer witnessed Scott Marberblatt spitting on Marcus Johnson, who self-quarantined and took a COVID-19 test.
A Trump supporter in Massachusetts who spit and coughed on a Black man in December has been charged with assault and battery.
Marcus Johnson was counter-protesting at a pro-President Donald Trump rally in Swampscott, carrying a sign that read “Black Lives Matter,” when a man approached him wearing a Trump 2020 hat, yelling, “All lives matter!”
The man, Scott Marberblatt, spit on Johnson, as well as other people standing near him.
A police officer witnessed the assault, and, according to the original report from TMZ, Marberblatt was “cited” for assault, not immediately arrested. Unwanted touching is classified as assault and battery and is punishable by up to two years in jail and a $1,000 fine.
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Johnson was filming the incident, and he captured the entire thing on film.
The moment prompted Johnson to get a test for COVID-19, but he was not able to immediately be tested. He self-quarantined, and, when tested a few days later, his result was negative.
Massachusetts has had more than 13,000 citizens die from coronavirus, which is easily transmitted through coughing.
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At the same protest, another Trump supporter, David Walbourne, reportedly “threw closed-fist punches at both a man and a woman, striking the megaphones that they were holding and driving them into their faces.”
A third man, Michael Ross, was arrested for hitting a woman with a flagpole.
There have been more than 60 weekly Trump rallies in the Swampscott, Massachusetts area since March of 2020, led by conservative radio host Dianna Ploss.
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At a previous rally, a Black Lives Matter counterprotester was arrested for reportedly punching a woman. However, Ernst Jean-Jacques said he was just pushing the woman’s hand away after she threw a water bottle at him. Police are currently reviewing various videos of the incident to determine what happened.
The woman, Linda Greenberg, admitted to throwing the water bottle because she was angry Jean-Jacques was dancing near her. Community members are urging police to drop charges against the man and charge Greenberg instead.
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