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Lone Black Lives Matter teen protester harassed and attacked by crowd

The police, as of yet, have not done anything about the alleged attackers.

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Siobhan Ball

black lives matter ohio

A teenage girl held a solo Black Lives Matter protest in Bethel, Ohio only to be met with harassment, verbal abuse, and assault from passers-by while the police looked on.

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On June 14, nineteen-year-old Ryley Wrigglesworth discovered there was an “all lives matter” protest going on downtown, and she decided to go and perform a counter-protest for Black Lives Matter.

“All lives matter” redneck biker protest is going on in bethel and I’m about to take my little ass up there by myself with my black lives matter sign. Let’s see how this goes.
Ryley Wriggleworth
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Once there, the enraged crowd started shouting “all lives matter” and other indiscernible but aggressively toned statements at her. Eventually, she was cornered by a group of white men who took and destroyed her sign, and hit and shoved her. Video captured by another bystander appears to show a police officer approaching her after the assault only to direct her across the street, away from the men, instead of taking action against them.

Ryley Wrigglesworth

Not deterred by her experience, Wrigglesworth made herself a new sign and went right back out to continue protesting, where she was met with yet more verbal abuse.

"Me coming back with my new sign and marching on hehe" With video of Ryley marching and holding her sign
Ryley Wrigglesworth
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Wrigglesworth later went on to retweet video from another protest, allegedly featuring the same man who tore up her sign punching another protester in the back of the head as he spoke to police on camera. The police present in the video do not appear to be interested in taking action against him even after the protester points out what just happened. She names the assailant as Johnnie B. Devault and points out he has a warrant out for his arrest.

This shithead who assaulted this protester is also the man who ripped my sign. His name is Johnnie B Devault and he has a warrant out for his arrest!!
Ryley Wrigglesworth

However, another Twitter user replied, stating that they’re two different men and claiming to have identified her assailant as the subject of yet another video from the protests, one showing a large number of counter-protesters violently intimidating and assaulting two Black Lives Matter protesters.

"I don’t think that’s the guy who ripped up your sign.  The guy who took your sign is this guy, Duane Martin." followed by an image of a man with a gun lunging at a protester
Ryley Wrigglesworth
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The police’s inaction while witnessing her assault has received a lot of attention, with some Twitter users saying that their refusal to protect even a white girl advocating for Black lives indicates a deep rooted racism.

Fuck the cops!!! This just shows how racist they are! She’s a white girl defending black people and her being harassed right in front of him means nothing. NOTHING!
Nui Lua Pele

According to a friend of Wrigglesworth, as of yesterday the Bethel police department still haven’t responded to Wrigglesworth contacting them about the events at the protest.

bethel pd still has yet to return @rywriggs phone call regarding Sunday’s events
Nui Lua Pele
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The Daily Dot has reached out to Wrigglesworth for comment and will update this article if she responds.

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