Watch: Attacker Kicks at Peaceful Pro-Lifers, Grabs & Attacks Innocent Woman
Apparently, you don’t have any right to free speech if you’re a pro-life activist. Did you know that? I sure didn’t, at least not until the past few weeks, when two anti-abortion protesters in Canada were physically assaulted on camera.
The first involved a roundhouse kick delivered to an activist named Marie-Claire Bissonnette in Toronto. Jordan Hunt, 26, is out on bail for the attack and stands charged with eight counts of assault and seven counts of mischief, according to LifeSite News.
Now comes a video of a second attack on pro-life campaigners in Canada’s most populous city, this time at Ryerson University. LifeNews reports that Katie Somers, a protester with Toronto Against Abortion, was assaulted by another woman as she talked with others about the unborn.
As she and Blaise Alleyne were engaged in what’s described as civil discourse with counter-protesters from the Ryerson Reproductive Justice Collective, one of the pro-abortion activists decided to get decidedly uncivil.
“She chased after me, grabbed my full, stainless steel water bottle and smashed it on the ground, then grabbed my backpack, yanking me back and forth,” Somers said of the incident.
“I yelled, ‘Get away from me!’ And she came after me and shoved me. She then moved on to Blaise, bumping him in the chest with hers and saying, ‘Let’s go, are you filming me? Let’s do this!’”
The assailant — allegedly Gabby Skwarko — then used a metal dolly to go after Somers. As she walked away to get to safety, the alleged attacker follows her and shoves her again.
“The possibility of self defense was gone for me the moment she used the metal cart as a weapon,” Somers said. “At that point, I was terrified of having my teeth broken, being concussed, or worse, and my priority was to get away and to safety.”
A second video shows the attack more clearly.
While some of the pro-abortion activists can be seen trying to stop Skwarko (allegedly, of course. She’s not convicted of anything, obviously, although the fact that everyone seemed to be restraining her by yelling “Gabby! Gabby!” probably isn’t a pleasant augury for her future legal team), it’s worth noting that one actually tries to block the individual filming the assault with a sign that’s clearly pro-abortion. I suppose if you don’t have any compunction about ripping babies from the womb, protecting thugs like this isn’t too much of an issue.
Somers received injuries on her wrist and leg. As for Skwarko — a former faculty of arts director at the Ryerson Students Union in addition to being a member of the Ryerson Reproductive Justice Collective — she can take heart in the fact that the Toronto police are currently investigating the incident, according to Canada’s Global News.
However, the founder of the Ryerson Reproductive Justice Collective wants you to know who the real victims are here: members of the Reproductive Justice Collective, of course.
“We have no comment,” Olson Crow, the group’s co-founder, told Global News. “They have assaulted us multiple times and giving into their viewpoint and the way they’ve swung this is problematic and bad.”
Leaving aside how that sounds a lot like a comment, Crow couldn’t provide any evidence that Toronto Against Abortion had assaulted them. Given the number of cameras that seem to be present at these events, that total lack of corroboration could probably be described as “problematic and bad.”
In fact, the only evidence provided that there had been prior violence was provided by Toronto Against Abortion, who put together a sort of demo reel showcasing all of the Ryerson Reproductive Justice Collective’s greatest hits (and thefts and harassments, as well):
Yes, I’d say all that qualifies as “problematic and bad.”
This assault happened one day after Jordan Hunt’s now-infamous attempt at pro-abortion kung fu. The two aren’t connected, per se, except by the fact that both showcase the incivility that’s overtaken sociopolitical discourse in North America.
No, this instance wasn’t as dramatic as the roundhouse, but when you have the Ryerson Reproductive Justice Collective seeming to defend the attack because they say (without evidence) that Toronto Against Abortion attacked them, the whole thing becomes … well, “problematic and bad” are two words that come to mind easily. To them, this attack — caught on video — is wholly defensible.
Of course, this sort of thing isn’t just germane to Canada, either. Consider recent incidents in America and how liberals have been desperate to avoid the label “mob” being applied to these events. When lawmakers are being chased from restaurants and their spouses are receiving graphic videos of beheadings via text message, these are things that all Americans ought to be decrying. Instead, it’s being celebrated. What happened at Ryerson University is what’s happening all over North America to anyone who deigns disagree with the liberal rabblement. This time, it just ended with some bruises. There’s no guarantee that the next pro-life activist who exercises their freedom of speech will be as fortunate.
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