‘KICKED IN THE HEAD’

Wisconsin State Senator Assaulted During Chaotic Night of Protests in Madison

Tim Carpenter, a Democrat, says he was attacked while he was taking photos, as demonstrators pulled down two statues, including one of an abolitionist.

A Wisconsin state senator says he was assaulted after taking a video of demonstrators during an angry night of protests in Madison. “I don’t know what happened... all I did was stop and take a picture... and the next thing I’m getting five-six punches, getting kicked in the head,” Tim Carpenter, a Democrat, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He later tweeted that between eight and 10 people attacked him and that he may have a concussion. The newspaper reported that the unrest began earlier when a Black man, identified in reports as local activist Devonere Johnson, was arrested after he allegedly took a baseball bat into a restaurant. Protesters reportedly smashed windows at the statehouse and pulled down two statues—including one of Col. Hans Christian Heg, an anti-slavery activist who fought for the Union in the Civil War. The second statue that was removed was of Wisconsin's motto “Forward.”