Police say antifa leader with flamethrower dropped to ground in fetal position and cried during arrest
by Andrew Mark Miller, Deputy Social Media Editor |September 02, 2020 11:45 AM
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Police say an antifa leader carrying a flamethrower at a Black Lives Matter rally broke down into tears when he was arrested.
Matthew Banta, 23, who is known in antifa circles as “Commander Red,” reportedly dropped to the ground in a fetal position and began sobbing when Wisconsin police stopped him while walking toward a Black Lives Matter protest with smoke grenades, fireworks, and a flamethrower, according to the New York Post.
At the time of his arrest on Saturday, Banta was out on a $10,000 cash bond for allegedly pointing a loaded gun at a police officer and biting and kicking a cop.
Conditions of that bond dictated that Banta was not allowed to be carrying dangerous weapons.
Banta, who was one of 15 people arrested at the Black Lives Matter protest in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Saturday, has been charged with obstructing an officer and two counts of felony bail jumping. He was released Monday on a $2,500 bond.
“It’s worrisome when people associated with antifa come here to Green Bay from out of town … for the purposes of committing violent acts,” said Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith.
President Trump responded to the news of Banta’s arrest on Twitter saying, “We catch them all!”
Trump has repeatedly condemned antifa, whose members have been active participants in the protests and riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the shooting of Jacob Blake. While visiting Kenosha, the president said that the “anti-fascist” organization is a “group of bad people.”
“My administration is restoring public safety,” Trump said in Kenosha on Tuesday. “We’re hiring more police, surging tough-on-crime federal prosecutors, increasing penalties for assaulting law enforcement and for dismantling antifa. It doesn’t — they don’t want to mention the word 'antifa.' Nobody mentions that. This is a bad group of people. Very, very bad, very dangerous people. And we are doing a big number on antifa. They’re bad.”
