Reveal host Al Letson shields man from beating at anti-hate rally

[oberliner]

While covering Sunday’s “Rally Against Hate” in Berkeley, California, today, Reveal host Al Letson witnessed a man being attacked by a group of protesters. The man was balled up on the ground, fending off blows from several people. Letson, wearing a red T-shirt, jumped in front of the batterers, protecting the man from further injury.

“I was scared they were going to kill him,” Letson said. “So the only thing I could think was I wanted to get on top of him to protect him.”

The altercation was caught on video by Mother Jones journalist Shane Bauer, who identified the aggressors as anti-fascist protesters, sometimes called antifa. He also said the man being beaten may have been a member of the alt-right. Neither of those observations could be confirmed.

Letson was covering the event along with other Reveal staff members. In the video, he can be seen wearing his headphones, with his recording gear in a black satchel strapped across his body.

https://www.revealnews.org/blog/reveal-host-al-letson-shields-man-from-beating-at-anti-hate-rally/

[Jake Stern]

1. So torn

On one hand I usually think there are better ways than violence to make a point but then there are times where you have to pound a bully into submission before he'll stop.

This also goes for bully groups like the so called "Alt-Right" who are nothing more than repackaged Neo-Nazis: the sooner they are driven back into the shadows, the better.

[Not Ruth]

2. Is Al Letson Reveal a citizen journalist?

[oberliner]

3. He hosted and produced the show State of the Re:Union on NPR

He now works for Reveal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Letson