Gainesville No Kings Organizers Told Activists to Not Engage with Counter-Protesters; Some Didn't Listen
The Gainesville No Kings protest held on Saturday morning remained entirely free of conflict, except for one section near the sidewalk where counter-protester Ted Peterson waved a large Trump flag. Multiple activists engaged with Peterson, but they weren’t acting within the direction of the protest organizers.
At the start of the demonstration, organizer and North Florida Indivisible leader Jyoti Parmar gave a speech to protesters, stating, “Please treat each other with kindness. Remember, if there are people who are agitated or protesting or counterprotesting, give them room. Call for a safety team to come support you if you need help. Do not engage. Please deescalate. This is a peaceful, nonviolent protest rally event.”
Parmar speaks at the Gainesville No Kings protest (GnvInfo)
In a speech to protesters, former city commissioner and 50501 Gainesville founder David Arreola said, “We have all come together, folks who agree, folks who disagree, folks who know each other, folks who don’t know each other. We’ve been able to come together, not just here in Gainesville but nationally. This movement, these numbers have grown. They’ve grown not because of any person or organization, but the values that we bring to these protests. That we care about non-violence, that we enforce non-violence. That we care about inclusion, that we enforce inclusion. That we care about conflict resolution and we enforce conflict resolution.”
Arreola speaks at the Gainesville No Kings protest, followed by City Commissioner Bryan Eastman (GnvInfo)
At 10:45 am, a man wearing a white hat and black T-shirt could be seen arguing with a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) about wanting to start an altercation with Peterson. The PSL member discouraged the demonstrator.
An organizer with Badass Feminists Gainesville, Travis Coulliette, commented on the situation. “It’s kind of funny; this guy is anti-[Trump], and he’s wanting to aggressively go in and ‘Kick Em Out!’ It's kind of like, ‘Alright, hold back.’ I’d kind of like for him to just walk away from it, and [Peterson] is just gonna stand there, although he can be violent and he has in the past. [Peterson] pushed an older woman down at a Tesla protest about four months ago. She poured water on his speaker because he was yelling at her. We didn’t call the police because she would be the one going to jail, so I stood in front of him for like half an hour… The best thing we could do is walk right by him and don’t even pay attention, but they’re not going to do that.”
At 11:20 am, GnvInfo recorded a verbal altercation between Peterson and a protester wearing a black shirt and a gray hat (seen to the right of Peterson holding a “Protect Free Speech” sign in the top photo). It hasn't been confirmed what started the feud, but several bystanders indicated that the protester’s wife got into some form of altercation with Peterson, one of whom said she got in his face. The PSL member encouraged onlookers to not give Peterson attention and walk away, but confrontations continued.
Peterson gets in a verbal altercation with a protester (GnvInfo)
Many activists discouraged the gray-hat protester from engaging with Peterson. “Fascists will waste your time,” said a nearby woman. “Wasting all that time and energy for ego.”
After a few moments, another protester wearing a blue Florida Gators T-shirt joined in on the altercation and stuck a middle finger directly in Peterson’s face. Peterson responded by slapping the man’s hand out of his face. With his hands in his pockets, the Gators T-shirt protester asked Peterson, “What are you gonna do?” in a confrontational manner.
Peterson and a protester have an altercation (GnvInfo)
After the Gators T-shirt protester walked away, the gray-hat protester reengaged with Peterson, and they had a long argument about whether or not Trump is in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
As the argument progressed, the gray-hat protester could be heard telling Peterson to “go somewhere where people love you.” A few moments later, a protester wearing a blue jeans joined in against Peterson. A woman accompanying the protester began trying to pull him away, but he pushed her to the side and continued engaging with Peterson. He asked Peterson if he supports Blue Lives Matter, with his point being that Trump pardoned individuals who resisted police with violence on the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack. Peterson told the protester he does not agree with Trump pardoning them.
Protesters engage Peterson in verbal altercations (GnvInfo)
At 12:07 pm, a younger man wearing a Bernie Sanders T-shirt and a sign displaying price increases entered the scene to engage in a debate with Peterson. The Sanders supporter told the gray-hat protester that he’s “making us look bad” and encouraged him to remain civil with Peterson. The gray-hat protester said, "I've asked him one thing, do you denounce pedophiles? I mean, I can’t get past that.”
“Nobody likes pedophiles,” said the Sanders supporter.
The gray-hat protester told the Sanders supporter he was being a “devil’s advocate.”
Peterson speaks civilly with a Bernie Sanders supporter, annoying the gray-hat protester (GnvInfo)
Peterson then stated, “I actually wanted to vote for him,” appearing to refer to Sanders. “If he was running against Trump, I would’ve voted for him.”
Peterson said that he only voted for Trump because of the “public option.”
At some point, two individuals wearing hats that said “legal observer” arrived on the scene, likely to act as witnesses in the event of any escalations, but confrontations remained verbal for the rest of the protest.
The gray-hat protester and Peterson went back and forth for the entire protest until Peterson left at the end on his one-wheel hoverboard.
Peterson leaves at the end of the protest (GnvInfo)
