Elderly Couple Berated by Antifa Extremists in Canada Respond

Members of Antifa march as a right-wing movement gathers for a "Demand Free Speech" rally in Washington, on July 6, 2019. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds//AFP/Getty Images

The elderly Canadian couple who were accosted by a group of Antifa extremists while crossing the street to attend a conservative free speech event left a message for her assailants via a Twitter video.

David Turkoski, the woman’s son, posted the video on Tuesday of his mother responding to the incident. “Free speech is the cornerstone of our democracy and can never and will never be denied.”

This morning Turkoski posted another video of his step-father talking about the encounter with Antifa.

“On Sunday night, my wife and I went to exercise our freedom of rights, to walk on a sidewalk and be able to understand what other people are saying and we were blocked and stopped with some pushing and shoving and I was pushed, and this is Canada and we were born and raised here I just don’t understand why this should happen in this country we love,” he said.

Members of the far-left extremist group Antifa were captured on camera intimidating the elderly couple over the weekend outside a Canadian college which was holding an event for a local conservative politician.

The video of the incident, which is widely circulated on social media, was taken outside Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, during a rally where Antifa members were protesting against Member of Parliament Maxime Bernier and supporters of his People’s Party of Canada. The event also featured American political pundit Dave Rubin.

Right after the incident, Turkoski posted a message. “My mom prevented from going into a free speech lecture by thugs in Hamilton Ontario Sunday.” “She put herself thru university with 4 kids worked for children’s aid and ran an organic farm. There is no tougher person I know.”

Four people were arrested for “breach of the peace” but were later released without conditions, according to local media CBC, citing police.

In the video, four masked protestors deliberatively stood in front of the elderly woman pushing a walker and an elderly man, blocking their path while screaming “Nazi scum! Off our streets!” The couple appeared calm in the video.

At one point, the elderly man tried to reason with a protestor but she immediately yells back, “Don’t [expletive] touch me!”

Reporter Andy Ngo was the first one to post the video of the elderly couple being harassed. “Antifa protesters scream at & block elderly couple outside an event featuring conservative politician @MaximeBernier & @RubinReport. Further violence broke out, leading to two arrests. Mohawk College had faced massive campaign to cancel the event.”

Members of the Antifa extremist group in Portland violently assaulted Andy Ngo, an independent journalist who’s known for documenting the group’s violence, on June 29.

A video recorded at the scene by a reporter for The Oregonian newspaper shows an Antifa member punching Ngo in the face. A pack of Antifa members then gangs up on Ngo, kicking and hurling cups of a white liquid at him as he walks away.

A Getty photographer also captured images of the attack, including photos in which Ngo is seen shielding himself as a masked Antifa member winds up for a punch.

In a video filmed after the attack, Ngo, bleeding and slightly disoriented, tells the audience that the Antifa attackers stole his camera.

Ngo, a Vietnamese American, has regularly documented violent attacks carried out by members of Antifa. His profile on Twitter, prior to the attack, stated that he is “hated by Antifa.”

Andy Ngo, a Portland-based journalist, is seen covered in unknown substance after unidentified Rose City Antifa members attacked him on June 29, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Several groups from the left and right clashed after competing demonstrations at Pioneer Square, Chapman Square, and Waterfront Park spilled into the streets. According to police, medics treated eight people and three people were arrested during the demonstrations. Moriah Ratner/Getty Images

While Antifa stands for “anti-fascist,” the group rarely, if ever, confronts actual fascists. Composed of communists, socialists, and other hard-left radicals, the group instead labels anyone who doesn’t align with their ideologies a “fascist” to justify its use of violence. After the election of President Donald Trump, the group has frequently used the “fascist” label to attack Trump supporters.

Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report