Two marines testified in court Thursday about the brutal attack they suffered at the hands of Antifa members nearly one month ago.
U.S. Marine Corps reservists Alejandro Godinez and Luis Torres were attacked in mid-November while attending an event that had nothing to do with the protests occurring elsewhere at that time in Philadelphia. The marines traveled to Philadelphia with members of their helicopter unit, according to Philadelphia Magazine.
During their testimony last week, the marines said they were unaware of the “We the People” rally taking place nearby, which included members of the alt-right Proud Boys facing off with members of the left-wing extremist group Antifa. Godinez and Torres said they were touring landmarks near the rally when one suspect, 33-year-old Thomas Keenan, approached them and asked: “Are you proud?” Godinez said he responded, “We are marines.”
Torres said he remembers Keenan asking if they were members of the Proud Boys, but he didn’t know what that meant. After that, the marines testified, about 10 Antifa members — including men and women, some of whom were masked — began punching and kicking them, spraying them with mace, and calling them “white supremacists” and “nazis.”
Godinez said he responded to the slurs by saying, “I’m Mexican!” but the attackers didn’t stop. Keenan and other members of the group then started using ethnic slurs against the marines. The other suspect arrested for the attack, Thomas Massey, was not accused of using the slurs.
Godinez said on the stand that he was attacked with mace at least six times, had been punched in the head and kicked in the rips. He said the mob “stomped” him and chanted “f*** him up” repeatedly.
“The best way I can describe it is the sound of people chanting in a soccer stadium,” Godinez testified. He added that Keenan was “laughing, smiling, and having a good time, while I could have died that day.”
Torres testified that Massy punched him as the marine protected his face with his hands. Prosecutors, according to Philadelphia Magazine, pointed out that Massey and Keenan were larger than the two marines.
Godinez said he tried to call 911 after the attack but couldn’t see his phone because of the mace, so Torres had to call. Godinez says his eyesight is still damaged by the attack and he might need surgery; he was reportedly blinking quite noticeably while he testified.
Keenan’s defense attorney reportedly referred to the brutal attack as a “tussle,” but was reprimanded by the judge, who said: “This isn’t like kids at a playground.”
The judge in the courtroom “ruled that both men would be held for trial on aggravated assault and conspiracy charges — both felonies — as well as several misdemeanors,” Philadelphia Magazine reported. Keenan was also hit with an additional felony charge for ethnic intimidation.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the Philadelphia Police Department is still investigating and looking for the other suspects in the attack. Keenan had been also arrested in 2007 for his role in another rally.