Man coughs in protesters’ faces and yells ‘Black lives don’t matter,’ Utah video shows
A profanity-ridden video shows a Utah man yelling “Black lives don’t matter” at anti-racism protesters last week moments before coughing in their faces several times.
The man, who identifies himself as Robert Brissette, can be heard saying “I hate all you Democrats. Black lives don’t matter. All lives matter.” He went on to say, “Oh, I’m so scared of your f***ing virus” and then coughed during the Oct. 10 encounter near a gas station in Kanab.
Two of the protesters who were coughed on can be seen hitting Brissette’s face and arm, while another hits the man with a sign.
In the video, Brissette can be heard telling protesters he can press assault charges for hitting him. He eventually walked away to a pickup truck with a large Trump flag attached to it as protesters chanted, “Take your hate somewhere else.”
A post on what appears to be Brissette’s Facebook page urges people to not “believe partial Videos” because they don’t show the entire story. “A group will only post what they want you to believe.”
About 1,400 people had commented on the post by Friday afternoon, mostly condemning him for his actions. The page’s Facebook profile and cover photo is of an image that reads, “LIVES MATTER! If you need a color in front of those words, YOU’RE a racist.”
Kanab Police Chief Tom Cram told KSL Newsradio that the case has been investigated and turned into the County Attorney’s Office “for screening of charges.” Brissette was not arrested or booked into jail and was allowed to go home until a decision is made.
“It’s assault, no matter what. The question is, ‘Is it aggravated assault? Is it felony assault? Is it a misdemeanor assault?’” Cram told the outlet. “With this virus, coughing on people is just a little more serious than simple assault. So, we’ve got to discuss that and decide what we think is appropriate.”
Brissette had posted a GoFundMe campaign that has since been deleted asking for $10,000 to cover legal costs, according to screenshots from Storyful. He said he was “attacked by [Black Lives Matter] protesters” who were allegedly laughing and throwing rocks at him, which the video did not show.
