Martin Gugino, 75, suffered a fractured skull and was left motionless after being pushed by police officers while participating in a Black Lives Matter protest on June 4.
In a viral video, Gugino lying on the ground, blood pouring from his head, and is unable to walk. Officers Robert McCabe, 32, and Aaron Torgalski, 39, have since been charged with second-degree assault and released without bail on June 6. Both officers are pleading not guilty.
Kelly Zarcone, Gugino’s attorney told TMZ that it would be unsafe for the 75-year-old protester to return home once he’s healthy enough to do so, because of the constant threats being made against Gugino’s life. Zarcone herself has also been threatened with torture by these angry individuals.
The threats have reportedly come from people who have fallen for a false claim that has been circulating about Gugino, wrongly stating he has been arrested 300 times. This claim also falsely alleges Gugino has a lengthy history of inciting riots.
According to Zarcone, Gugino has only been arrested four times for peacefully protesting, with one arrest resulting in a criminal charge for trespassing, for which he was acquitted.
Gugino has been the subject of various rumors after his injury. On June 9, President Trump tweeted an unfounded claim that Gugino’s injury had been a ‘set up’, accusing Gugino of being ‘an Antifa provocateur’.
There is no evidence to suggest this is the case, and Trump has been widely criticized for making these remarks.
It is believed that Trump read this conspiracy theory on the far-right One America News Network or OANN. Tracing this further back, the OANN appears to have encountered this theory on a right-wing, anonymous blog called The Conservative Treehouse.
Business Insider reported that the OANN reporter who shared the conspiracy has previously worked for Russia’s main state-run media source Sputnik, and is known for incorporating Kremlin propaganda in his reporting.
Gugino is known to be a longtime follower of the Catholic Worker Movement, a religious group that focuses on issues concerning peace and justice.
In the official Catholic Worker Movement website, communities are ‘committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer, and hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry, and forsaken’. Catholic Workers are also said to ‘protest injustice, war, racism, and violence of all forms’.