In his Tuesday morning tweet, Trump referenced a report from right-wing news outlet One America News Network that, in turn, cited a website called Conservative Treehouse which accused Gugino of being a member of the loosely defined left-wing activist group Antifa. Neither OANN nor the Conservative Treehouse offered any proof to support their allegations against Gugino.
The report in question was a segment on OANN authored by Kristian Rouz, who the Daily Beast reported used to work for Russian propaganda outlet Sputnik.
“Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?”
On “Fox & Friends,” co-host Brian Kilmeade pressed McEnany on whether the president’s tweets were appropriate on the day of the funeral for George Floyd, the black man whose death in police custody has prompted nationwide protests, including the one where Gugino was injured. McEnany insisted that the president’s tweet was not out of line.
“The president has acknowledged so many times, and rightfully so, the injustice with George Floyd. He was upset when he saw that video, as I noted he gave an entire speech about Mr. Floyd and the grave injustice there,” McEnany said. “But the president was raising some questions, some legitimate ones about that particular interaction, and it is his prerogative to do so.”
Gugino’s friends have described the 75-year-old as a peaceful protester who was committed to nonviolence, BuzzFeed News reported.
McEnany also claimed that Gugino had a history of anti-police tweets, while noting the entire Buffalo Police Department Emergency Response Team resigned after the two officers who pushed Gugino were charged with assault.
“We need to ask why those officers resigned, what happened, what facts were on the ground, and the president was just raising some of those questions,” McEnany said.
