By Scott Smyers
On July 8 there was a group of medical freedom protestors gathered at the Acton Discovery Museum, a local business focused on education for children. An Acton resident, Fred Smith confronted the individuals and they began arguing and shoving. Mr. Smith grabbed and broke one of the signs and swung a broken PVC pipe at several individuals, making contact and causing injury. There was grabbing and shoving from both sides, but Mr. Smith outweighed each of the protestors and one sprayed Mr. Smith in the face with pepper spray.
The Police Report is available at this link
Several videos of the incident are available on Twitter1 Twitter2.
Mr. Smith often speaks at public meetings and is active on social media. His statements are often divisive and dehumanizing.
After watching the video and reading the arrest report…There is a clear disconnect. Granted we don’t have everything leading up to the initial sign pulls, but it seems pretty clear that Smith was being aggressive, “attacked” signs, grabbed a lady’s wrist, was pepper sprayed multiple times, then struck with a thin PVC pipe.
I make my kids watch “Ink Masters” to illustrate the volunteers for getting sketchy tattoos and call this show Bad Life Decisions. What we just saw here is a whole lot of bad life decisions on everyone’s part.
Protest is cool, but, c’mon not at the Discovery Museum. People just want to make their hyperactive kids do something other than stick crayons up their nose. Find another place to protest. Rage-o-manic, dude, disagree with their message, put your fingers in your kid’s ears, and go find the music room they used to have.
God, people need to chill the F* out and stop thinking with their internet brain and just start thinking.
I looked at the police report you posted and the videos (seemingly all from the protesters/alleged victims) and to be fair, there appears to be plenty of stupid to go around here. As a criminal defense lawyer, aware that we have to be careful viewing partial, alleged evidence such as this, I see some clear video footage, especially from Michelle’s posted video, that the bearded guy with the backpack seemed to be aggressively attacking Fred from the back as he walked away, pulling on his shirt, and pepper spraying him at close range in the face. Hardly looked like self defense, or like he “feared for his life” as the police report said he claimed. I’m curious as to why it appears only Fred was charged/arrested.
That said, let’s presume innocence here, re everybody involved in this “fight.” And remember, everybody, just about anything can be considered a “dangerous weapon.”
I agree with you. There was certainly stupidity all round here.
From the statement of the Discovery Museum manager, it appears that the protestors were trespassing at the time the incident occurred. (I’m assuming this took place on Discovery Museum property). They’d been asked to leave and didn’t. It looks as if the police hadn’t been called. Perhaps if they had been things would have played out differently.
It’s interesting that the statements don’t match the video. In the statements the sequence is Fred pushes people around and destroys signs, Fred hits people with a stick, Fred is pepper sprayed. That’s not what I see in the video. I see Fred pushed people around, Fred gets pepper sprayed, Fred hits people with a stick.
It’s clear that Fred should be charged with something. But what about the protestor? His behavior doesn’t seem to be self defense. They are plenty of other things he could have done in that situation that didn’t involve the use of pepper spray. I think have been arrested and charged too. From the video evidence, it seems very odd that he wasn’t.
I would not call these folks ‘medical freedom’ protestors. People are free to choose whether they get the Covid vaccine or not. It’s not mandatory in general and certainly not for the under 5s. In my mind anti-vaxxers is a far better description.
I’ve had a social media run-in two years ago with this tolerant loving person. I was told I’m “not welcome in Acton” for my conservative / America First views. I am not surprised this happened.
I was one of the victims. There was absolutely NOT pushing and shoving on both sides. It was absolutely ONLY Fred Smith. I understand you’re trying to do a good thing by bringing attention to this mad man; however, it was ONE MAN against 5 victims.