Cops in Cleveland had to extinguish a Republican convention protester on Wednesday after he inadvertently set himself on fire while trying to burn the American flag.
Video uploaded to YouTube by the nonprofit organization We Are Change features activists lighting the American flag on fire before cops descend on their position.
One cop yelled, “You’re on fire, stupid!” as extinguishers were deployed.
At least 17 people were arrested during the chaos that ensued after the Revolutionary Communist Party’s protest, a local CBS affiliate reported Wednesday.
Carl Dix, a representative of Revolutionary Communist Party, issued a statement afterward condemning the “American empire.”
“There’s nothing great about America,” he added.
Pete Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, told the Daily Caller that he witnessed the event just outside Quicken Loans Arena.
“Go to jail. Follow the law. I was right there as it began. It was probably two dozen people in black shirts chanting about Communist revolution, some psychobabble nonsense. They pull out the flag, try to light it, spill some lighter fluid. He lit the flag and his own leg on fire,” Mr. Hegseth told the website on Thursday.
Police Chief Calvin Williams said Wednesday night that cops would continue to remain “vigilant” so they could end on “a positive note,” CBS New York reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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