Prominent white nationalist Richard Spencer, president of the National Policy Institute and an early leader of the so-called “alt-right,” was assaulted Friday while giving an interview on the street in the middle of an inauguration protest in Washington, D.C.
Spencer was punched on two separate occasions by unidentified people, according to a report by Jezebel and Spencer’s own account on his Periscope channel.
Spencer acknowledged the assaults by individuals he claimed were antifa—short for anti-fascist—protestors, saying he was “sucker punched.” On Periscope, he also said he was spat on:
I was just physically assaulted twice by antifas. No serious damage. I can take a punch.
— Richard ? Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) January 20, 2017
“I can’t hear too well out of my right ear at the moment,” he said in his Periscope video, saying that he had since gotten out of harm’s way.
“Right now I am in a safe space,” he said.
Video captured by a bystander during the incident circulated on social media:
Video of @RichardBSpencer getting punched by protester. pic.twitter.com/zx0UAX0Yaj
— The Current Year (@TheeCurrentYear) January 20, 2017