As chaos erupted at the Wisconsin State Capitol Tuesday night, protesters beat and robbed a black man while a biracial woman was later burned with lighter fluid by men she described to authorities as white.
Madison police said these were just some of the “many acts of overnight violence” under investigation after daylong protests took a violent turn Tuesday evening.
A 28-year-old man was assaulted around 10:30 p.m. after he inadvertently turned his car into the path of protesters while driving to pick up his girlfriend at a hospital, police said in a news release.
Emily Hamer, a reporter with the Wisconsin State Journal, captured video of the moment when the man was attacked. The man, identified only as Mike, told the paper the incident frustrated him because he is black and supports the movement.
"I'm by no means against Black Lives Matter," he said. "I definitely am against being beaten and robbed, and having my car destroyed."
He said the attack unfolded after a protester threw a bicycle at his car, causing damage, according to police. He got out of his car and was surrounded by a group of about 50 protesters.
Mike told the paper that protesters thought he intentionally hit the bike. He also said he had his fists raised when approaching the protesters, which he called a “super duper bad idea.”
Several protesters punched and kicked him, police said. His wallet was stolen while he was curled in the fetal position in the street. Protesters also smashed his car windows and stole his cell phone.
He was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
As the chaos continued overnight, an 18-year-old biracial woman was burned with lighter fluid in what police said is being investigated as a hate crime.
Protesters block traffic at an intersection an intersection near Capitol Square in Madison on Tuesday. Crowds outside the Wisconsin State Capitol tore down two statues and attacked a state senator amid protests following the arrest of a Black man who shouted at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. (Emily Hamer/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
The woman was stopped at a red light around 1 a.m. with the window of her car rolled down when she said she heard a racial epithet and saw a group of four men, all white, nearby, police said in a separate news release.
She said one man in the group sprayed a liquid on her face and neck, and then threw a flaming lighter at her, setting her on fire, according to police. She patted out the flames as she drove away.
She was treated for burns at a hospital, where staff determined the liquid was likely lighter fluid. The woman will need to return to the hospital for continued medical care, police said.
Protesters attack Wisconsin state senator recording demonstrations on his phone
Democrat State Sen. Tim Carpenter says he was brutally beaten for taking video of protesters on his cell phone in Madison; Matt Finn reports.
Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, also was assaulted — an attack captured on video. Carpenter said that he was “beat up” by eight to 10 protesters as he filmed them on his way to the Capitol.
Protesters also toppled two statues, one of which was of abolitionist Col. Hans Christian Heg, who fought and died during the Civil War on the Union side. They also vandalized buildings, causing “significant damage to state property," Gov. Tony Evers said.
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State and city leaders have condemned the violence and said those committing criminal acts will be held responsible. Evers activated the National Guard on Wednesday.
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