A video of an Antifa protester kicking a canister of tear gas at a police officer and then proceeding to get hit in the groin with a rubber bullet, went viral earlier this week. Well it turns out that things have gotten even worse for the viral video sensation. He was arrested on Thursday evening.
The protester identified himself as 29-year-old Joshua Stuart Cobin from Scotsdale, AZ, who works at Go Daddy. He was wearing a black mask in the video, although AZ Central is reportingthat a Reddit user claiming to be Cobin is saying that he wasn’t a part of Antifa. Ironically, that same user also stated that he didn’t think he would be arrested for his actions because “if they wanted to arrest me I feel like they would have done so already.”
Cobin doesn’t think he did anything wrong (H/T: CBS 5):
“I don’t equate kicking or putting back tear gas canisters as attacking police. I never attacked a police officer,” he said.
He said he kicked the canister because he felt officers were not justified in their response to Tuesday’s protests. Phoenix police have said they broke up the demonstration with tear gas and pepper balls after some people in the crowd threw rocks, bottles and other objects at them.
“That was not an unlawful assembly and that I had every right to be there. And that tear gas was in the way of myself and every other peacefully assembled protesters being there,” he said.
Several hilarious versions of the video were made. Here are my two favorites.
Nick Raff on Twitter
Protester gets hit in the nuts to the tune of “I will always love you” @benshapiro https://t.co/Ol3nRPBfym
Tim Young on Twitter
WATCH: I upgraded the video of the protester getting hit in the balls with a tear gas canister… with Celine Dion. #PhoenixRally https://t.co/zVeHfUQz9C