Last month, the pro-Trump group Proud Boys faced off with the alt-left group Antifa in Philadelphia. Two U.S. Marine Corps reservists – Alejandro Godinez and Luis Torres – happened to be visiting the city that day with other members of their helicopter unit. Though the Marines took no part in the rally or was a member of either group, they ended up being brutally attacked by members of Antifa.
Last week the marines, Alejandro Godinez and Luis Torres testified in court for the first time about the assault. The Marines testified that they were unaware of the rallies taking place, but were approached by members of Antifa while walking through the city. One of the Antifa members, a 33-year-old named Thomas Keenan, reportedly asked the two Marines if they were “proud”, apparently questioning whether or not they were members of the Proud Boys. Confused by the question, Godinez replied, “we are Marines.” The Antifa members, however, weren’t satisfied with that answer, and ten of them violently attacked Godinez and Torres.
They punched and kicked the Marines, threw them to ground, and sprayed them multiple times with mace – all while laughing and cheering. Godinez testified that, “The best way I can describe it is the sound of people chanting in a soccer stadium.” He also added that Thomas Keenan was “laughing, smiling, and having a good time, while I could have died that day.”
To add even more insult to injury, the Antifa members reportedly hurled racial slurs at Godinez, who is a Mexican, while they attacked him. They also accused the two Marines of being “nazis” and “white supremacists” and chanted “f**K him up” throughout the attack.
Godinez recalled trying to call 911 after the attack but being unable to do so because his phone was so drenched in mace. Godinez testified that his eyes are still damaged from the mace and that he might have to undergo surgery to repair his eyesight. According to reports from the courtroom, the Marine was blinking rapidly throughout his testimony.
Thomas Keenan – the ringleader of the brutal assault – is now being charged with felony aggravated assault, felony conspiracy charges, felony ethnic intimidation, and several misdemeanors. The Philadelphia Police Department is still investigating the attack and looking for the other suspects who engaged in assaulting Torres and Godinez.
Keep in mind that Antifa is the same group that those on the left ignore at best and support at worst. Bernie Sanders has outright refused to condemn them. As has other Democrat leaders.
Tragedies such as this expose the true nature of Antifa, yet their wrongdoings are all but ignored in the mainstream media. Meanwhile, some leftists go as far as to argue that Antifa is fighting for a noble cause, even if their methods aren’t always agreeable.
However, Alejandro Godinez and Luis Torres – as well as every other true American who supports the US military and common human decency – know that there is nothing noble in the slightest about Antifa. The violent hate group bullies and berates, fights against free speech, and uses politics as an excuse for violence. They are the living embodiment of the nazis and fascists that they pretend to fight against.
Now that Godinez and Torres have testified in court and brought a small portion of Antifa’s many crimes into the spotlight once again, it is far past time for leaders of the Democratic party, members of the leftist media, and leftist leaders at-large to denounce this despicable group. Rather than baselessly accusing President Trump of stirring up violence, here is an opportunity for those on the left to take a real stand against political violence and distance themselves from a group that no one should want to be associated with.
You shouldn’t hold your breath for that to happen, though. While the majority of those on the left do not engage in the same tactics as Antifa, they still support many common goals, including shutting down free speech and intimidating conservatives into silence. So long as Antifa remains useful to the far left, their atrocities will continue to be ignored.
While Alejandro Godinez and Luis Torres will hopefully see their attackers come to justice and face the consequences of their actions, we as an entire nation still owe an apology to these two American heroes. While they are focused on protecting us from enemies abroad, our country has failed to protect them from enemies at home.
