BLM protests: Wisconsin state senator attacked after taking photo of demonstrators, reports say

MADISON, Wis. — A group of people reportedly attacked a Wisconsin state senator Tuesday night after he photographed demonstrators outside the state Capitol.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, state Sen. Tim Carpenter, a Democrat, was headed to work at the Capitol in Madison when he snapped a picture of protesters gathered outside the building.

"The next thing, I'm getting five-six punches, getting kicked in the head," Carpenter told the newspaper.

Demonstrators told Journal Sentinel reporter Lawrence Andrea that Carpenter had provoked them.

Following the attack, Carpenter collapsed, WKOW-TV reported. The station's crew called an ambulance. No further information about the incident, possible arrests or Carpenter's condition was immediately available.

The attack came hours after Madison police arrested 28-year-old activist Devonere Johnson, saying he had brought a baseball bat and megaphone into a business, according to WKOW.

On Tuesday night, demonstrators pulled down the “Forward” statue and dumped another, a depiction of Union Col. Hans Christian Heg, into a nearby lake, the news outlets reported. Heg was an abolitionist, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Protests over racism and police violence began late last month following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Since then, numerous demonstrations have been held in cities across the country.

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Cox Media Group