Philly Antifa member charged with aggravated assault over attack on Marine reservists

An Philadelphia Antifa member has turned himself into police and been charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, assault, and terroristic threats for an alleged attack on a group of Marine reservists which took place November 17th. From Philly magazine:

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Investigators say that a group of men and women maced, punched, kicked, and robbed the reservists near Front and Chestnut streets on Saturday, November 17th, around 3:20 p.m., just down the street from the controversial “We the People” rally. The group allegedly called the reservists “Nazis” and “white supremacists.”…

According to police, [Tom] Keenan, a 33-year-old Mount Airy resident, turned himself last week.

He has been charged with two counts each of criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, simple assault, and reckless endangerment. Keenan, who was not charged with robbery, was released on bail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on December 6th.

A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department says that the case is still open and that they continue to investigate the other suspects.

Last Monday, just two days after the alleged incident, Philly police released this video highlighting three individuals they wanted to identify:

Philly magazine reports that Keenan has been involved with Antifa in the city for more than a decade. In 2007 he was one of four people (the Love Park 4) arrested at a KKK rally. Keenan was initially charged with multiple felonies but eventually agreed to a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

The attack on the reservists wasn’t the only violent incident which allegedly took place near the “We the people” rally. A Jewish man who had crossed the street to use the bathroom was accused of being a “Nazi” by a left-wing counter-protester when he came back across the street. The Times of Israel describes what happened next:

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When he approached an activist apparently filming him, Zachary said, “People surrounded me, then bam-bam-bam, I was pushed, punched, swarmed. I just threw my jacket up over my face — one as protection and two, I don’t want any more people to think I’m a Nazi! Then I look up and all I see is news cameras. The cops basically abandoned me. I’m looking for any car to jump into, and they’re asking, ‘How do we know you’re a Jew?’”

Zachary eventually managed to get into a cab, Billy Penn reported, but not before one counter-protester head-butted him in an assault caught on camera.

The tweet showing the video of that attack seems to have been deleted. This local news report gives a sense of what was going on at the rally and counter-protest:

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