NOT SURPRISING

White Nationalist Richard Spencer Punched In Face During Inauguration Interview

While explaining the meaning of his Pepe the Frog pin.

White nationalist Richard Spencer was punched in the face while giving an interview during Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday. Video of the attack, which has since gone viral, shows the alt-right leader explaining the significance of his “Pepe the Frog” pin to a journalist off-camera before a man walks up and decks him in the side of the face. The “Pepe the Frog” symbol was designated a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League after racists and anti-Semites made a concerted effort to “reclaim” the comic book character and began using it in Twitter harassment campaigns. Spencer was attacked before he could explain why he was wearing the symbol on Friday, but seconds before, he promised demonstrators surrounding him that he was not a neo-Nazi. Spencer later tweeted that he’d suffered “no serious damage,” as he can “take a punch.” In an interview with CNN after the assault, which he called “terrible,” he said he plans to file a police report over the incident. “I've certainly never had this happen before -- a sucker punch in broad daylight,” he said. While he likes arguing with people who don’t agree with his views, he said, “punching like that just crosses a line -- totally unacceptable.” Police in D.C. said they have not yet received a complaint from Spencer, and as such, there is currently no open investigation into the incident.