A Salt Lake City man who shouted ‘all lives matter’ was beaten and his car was torched after he took out a compound bow and aimed it at demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd on Saturday.
Video on social media shows Brandon McCormick climb out of his car at an intersection in the Utahn capital with the weapon, which he then aimed at several protesters.
A few moments later, a mob surrounds McCormick and starts beating him up.
They flipped over McCormick’s car and set it on fire.
It did not appear that McCormick shot anyone with the bow.
Brandon McCormick of Salt Lake City (above) took out a compound bow during protests on Saturday
McCormick took the compound bow out of his car while parked at an intersection in Salt Lake City on Saturday
McCormick then aimed the weapon at several demonstrators in the area
Within a few seconds, a mob descends upon him and beats him, leaving him bloodied and bruised. His car was also flipped over and set on fire
‘First, I got beat up when I yelled “All Lives Matter”,’ McCormick told KSL-TV on Saturday.
‘Then I pulled out weapons and I got beat up some more.
‘The cops grabbed me and my car got totaled … I lost everything, coming down here to try to protect [officers] with what weapons I had.’
McCormick added: ‘I back up the law enforcement.
‘I know some cops are bad. I know some people are racists are bad.’
He later told Deseret News: ‘I came down here originally to help the cops.
‘But, all I did was yell out, “All lives matter” and I got beat up by black people.’
‘First, I got beat up when I yelled “All Lives Matter”,’ McCormick told KSL-TV on Saturday. ‘Then I pulled out weapons and I got beat up some more.’
The image above shows protesters flipping over McCormick’s vehicle before setting it on fire in Salt Lake City on Saturday
As of late Saturday, McCormick has not been charged by the police. It is unclear if anyone who confronted him or vandalized his car was arrested.
According to his Facebook page, McCormick is a native of Barstow, California.
His Facebook page includes several extreme posts about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Protests continued into the night in Salt Lake City on Saturday despite a curfew issued by the mayor and National Guard troops deployed by Utah’s governor.
Police officers broadcast announcements that the 8pm curfew had taken effect in hopes that demonstrators would voluntarily leave the downtown area, Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said.
Police were prepared to give people time to leave, but they planned to arrest people who refused to comply, Brown said.
‘It is time to go home,’ he said in a news conference after the curfew took effect.
The curfew by Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall was scheduled to last until 6am on Monday.
Police officers from across Utah and up to 200 Guard troops were deployed to rein in what Governor Gary Herbert called an ‘escalating situation.’
‘We condemn violence and looting,’ Herbert wrote, adding, ‘I once again call on all who are protesting to do so peacefully.’
Six people had been arrested by Saturday night, Brown said.
One police officer was injured after a protester struck the officer on the back of the head with a baseball bat, and two other officers have been hospitalized because of heat exhaustion, he said.
A protester looks on as a flipped over police vehicle burns in Salt Lake City on Saturday
Police officers broadcast announcements that the 8pm curfew had taken effect in hopes that demonstrators would voluntarily leave the downtown area, Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said
Police were prepared to give people time to leave, but they planned to arrest people who refused to comply
Policeman push a photographer as protesters demonstrate in Salt Lake City on Saturday
A policeman walks in front of a burning vehicle as protesters demonstrate in Salt Lake City on Saturday
A injured protester lays on the ground as police push forward during a protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday
The police chief said he didn’t have any reports of protester injuries.
What was billed as a ‘car caravan for justice’ began with people in vehicles circling the Salt Lake City Police Department with signs that said ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Justice for George Floyd.’
People on foot smashed eggs against the windows of the police station.
Messages were written on the building that said, ‘We can’t breathe’ along with expletives directed at police.
Graffiti was also written on the state Capitol.
Later in the afternoon, protesters flipped over a police vehicle and set it on fire.
Men carrying rifles stood on top of the wreckage.
Police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
During the day, protesters marched through downtown Salt Lake City to the state Capitol chanting, ‘We can’t breathe,’ which Floyd said while he was in police custody.
A separate rally in Ogden drew about 1,000 people, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
‘(We want to do) anything we can do as a people to stop the systematic bias and racism against people of color in our nation that’s gone on for 400 years,’ Ogden resident Keyvin VanDyke said.
Floyd died after a Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after he stopped moving and pleading for air, leading to protests in cities across the US.