Forest Machala charged with first-degree assault and Stephen Kurtz charged with four-degree assault
Stop the Steal and anti-mask protesters clashed with counterprotesters in Olympia, Washington. When it was over there were three arrests and one person shot.
Forest Machala is facing first-degree assault charges, the equivalent of attempted murder in Washington state, for his actions on December 12, 2020.
Video shows violence and has racial slurs. Viewer discretion is advised.
[OLYMPIA] (Malcontent News) – The Washington State Patrol confirmed that 26-year old Forest Michael Machala, of Shoreline, Washington, was the person who shot a Black activist on Saturday in Olympia, Washington. Machala in custody at the Thurston County Jail, charged with 1st-degree assault, the equivalent of attempted murder under Washington state law. Machala is presently held without bail and does not have a lawyer on record.
Social media records show Machala graduated from Roosevelt High School and is a former Boy Scout. His profile indicates he has traveled, enjoys hiking, and is otherwise unremarkable. In a photo that captured Machala, he is seen in a “Make America Great Again” Trump hat and carrying a walking stick.
On Saturday, Machala and an estimated 50 to 75 heavily armed “Stop the Steal” and anti-mask Trump supporters descended on the state capitol. They rallied to protest the 2020 Presidential election results and ongoing business restrictions. Waving Gasden, Trump, and American flags, they were met by a larger and more lightly armed group of counter-protesters. About 100 Olympia, Thurston County Sheriff, and Washington State Patrol officers tried to keep the groups separated.
A series of brawls broke out, and officers deployed crowd control measures. A woman aligned with the Trump supporters was arguing with a Black man aligned with the counter-protesters. Around 1:45 PM, Machala allegedly drew a handgun and shot the Black counter-protester in the stomach. Protesters took the victim to the hospital in a private vehicle. Social media reports indicate the victim is in stable condition.
Earlier in the day, Stephen Christopher Kurtz, 42 years old of Olympia, Washington, was arrested by Olympia police for 4th-degree assault and failure to disperse. In that incident, Kurtz is accused of brandishing a gun unprovoked. Several journalists caught the incident on camera. Kurtz was released from Olympia city jail on $1000 bail. A hearing date for Kurtz has not been set.
Saturday’s shooting is the second in a week marred by gun violence. Christopher Guenzler is held at the Thurston County Jail on 1st and 2nd-degree assault charges. Guenzler is accused of shooting a protester one protester and pistol-whipping another on December 5.
Shoreline, Washington, where Machala lives, has been a flashpoint of racist activity in 2020, including threats against a group of children creating Black Lives Matter chalk art in front of their homes in August, and the attempted arson of a black-owned coffee shop in October. Officials have made no arrests in either of those incidents.
Police declared a riot at 1:30 PM today as multiple groups squared off, resulting in one shot. Multiple groups rallied in the state capitol, including an anti-mask group demanding business reopen, another group demanding schools reopen, a “stop the steal” group protesting Trump’s loss, and Black Lives Matter activists. The groups engaged in taunts and small brawls before chaos broke out.
According to eyewitnesses, a woman aligned with one of the right-wing extremist organizations started arguing with an individual from Black Lives Matter. A man who was with the woman pulled out a gun and shot the person in the stomach. Social media reports the individual is in stable condition. Olympia police tweeted they made one arrest. Social media is sharing a picture of the alleged shooter. He has not been booked into the Thurston County Jail as of this writing.
The crowd has moved. One arrest has been made. Crowd is now on the Capitol Campus.
After the riot declaration, smaller groups continued to march and engage for almost three hours. Olympia Police declared the situation under control early this evening and said they would continue to monitor the situation. The Washington State Patrol continued to have an aircraft circling the city, according to FlightAware.
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On December 5, 2020, during another incident with right-wing extremists, Police arrested Chris Guenzler after shooting a protester and pistol-whipping another. In that shooting incident, the victim was grazed by a bullet and sustained minor injuries. Guenzler is still in custody in the Thurston County Jail. His arraignment is scheduled for December 22, 2020.
Right-wing extremists plan another protest in Olympia tomorrow at noon.
Thurston County officials have charged Christopher Michael Guenzler, with 1st-degree and 2nd-degree assault after shooting a protester on Saturday afternoon in Olympia, Washington. Guenzler was being held without bail and did not have an attorney as of this morning. If the district attorney pursues both charges, Guenzler could be looking at a maximum of 45 years in prison.
On Saturday, Trump supporters and anti-maskers planned a rally in Olympia, Washington. They are following baseless and unproven claims of widespread election fraud at a national and state level and that COVID is a hoax.
Multiple journalists aligned to the political left and right caught the incident on camera. Guenzler, wearing a lime green sweat jacket with a “don’t tread on me” graphic, brandished a sidearm earlier in the protest. Counter-protesters and Trump supporters got into a scuffle, with the Trump supporters charging as counter-protesters were moving back.
Individual who fired his gun earlier in the day can be seen at the :23 second mark pointing his firearm at protesters. According to an Olympia Police officer, that individual has been arrested & they are currently investigating the shooting. #Washington#Portland#Protest#fightpic.twitter.com/e4LQFPWb79
You can hear multiple paintball rounds being fired in the videos while counter-protesters are struck, ironically, by poles with American flags on them while the flags land on the ground. One of the Trump supporters also deployed bear mace. Guenzler pulls his sidearm again and fires a single shot into the crowd. Protesters from both sides make an audible gasp after the sound of gunfire, and both groups back away.
During the melee, police did nothing to divide the protest groups and only observed. According to social media, the victim, who has not been identified, received a single gunshot wound. Guenzler was also identified at the anti-mask rally outside of Governor Jay Inslee’s house on Thanksgiving day. During that protest, 50 to 75 anti-mask protesters, some armed, blocked the road while sharing a potluck meal. During speeches that followed streamed live by journalists, protesters got increasingly angry, with some calling for violence and criticizing Loren Culp, a failed gubernatorial candidate, for directing them to stop engaging in direct action. The governor was not at his Bainbridge island home, and no direct threats were made against the governor. At that event, Washington state police aided protesters by blocking the road.
Support for white supremacy, Trump, and election fraud theories
Guenzler’s social media footprint shows strong alignment to the Trump campaign and far-right organizations. His profile includes pictures with confederate flags in 2016. He is a graduate of Port Orchard High School, and according to his social media profiles, attended Kitsap High School for some time. His profile shows an affinity to sexualized content, guns, Trump, and white supremacy.
Chris Guenzler in 2016, from his public Facebook profile
Stop the steal is a baseless Qanon conspiracy theory. The claims include that dead Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez tampered with Dominion’s software, a voting machine company. Recent additions to the idea include boatloads of illegal ballots arriving by ship from North Korea to a port in Maine.
In Georgia, Stop the Steal protesters advocate not voting on January 5, 2020, Senate runoff. The special election in Georgia will decide which party controls Congress’s upper chamber, with significant implications for the incoming Biden Administration. The idea being, that by not participating, impossible vote results will come out of counties, including “negative results” for the GOP candidates. Georgia has done two recounts and one audit of their results from November 4 and found no fraud evidence.
The Trump Administration has filed dozens of court claims at the local, state, federal, and with the Supreme Court of the United States. In total, 46 court cases have been thrown out due to lacking evidence or merit, including by judges appointed by Trump. Joe Biden won the US election by more than 7 million votes in the popular vote, and with 306 delegates from the electoral college. As of Friday, 279 electors have been certified for Biden. The electoral college will meet on December 14, 2020, to cast their votes for president.
The right-wing shooter from Olympia WA today is Christopher Michael Guenzler.
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