‘Instigator’ with antifa flag still at large as Harrisburg police make protest arrests

Harrisburg police on Friday arrested a man accused of aggravated assault after he allegedly threw a brick at an officer and used a skateboard to break two windows of a police vehicle during a melee that broke out during a protest and march downtown Saturday.

Police also accused Dexter Thompson, 26, of threatening to kill the officer, according to court records. Police arrested Thompson at his home Friday morning, and he recorded it on Facebook Live before being taken into custody.

Police charged him with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and institutional vandalism. He spent Friday afternoon in jail and later was released on $5,000 unsecured bond by Magisterial District Judge Hanif Johnson.

Thompson represents the first person arrested by Harrisburg police for alleged criminal acts that occurred after a relatively peaceful protest and rally the afternoon of May 30.

Capitol police also arrested a man for allegedly throwing a brick at police during the same protest but his name and charges had not been released by Capitol Police.

Harrisburg police are still looking for a woman blamed by city officials for “sparking” the violence at the rally. Police said she used a flagpole she was carrying to crack a police vehicle windshield. She was carrying a flag that Mayor Eric Papenfuse on Friday confirmed was an antifa flag.

Antifa, which is short for anti-fascist, represents far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations and other events.

Witnesses told PennLive the melee started when a protestor either tripped or was pushed back from a police vehicle by an officer, as they were marching next to the vehicle on Front Street near Forster Street.

That’s the moment where things went bad, according to Chris Carvell, of Snyder County, and Tom Moran, of Schuylkill County.

“It had been peaceful for the most part,” Carvell said. “As we were walking, a guy apparently got too close to a cop, and the cop put his arm up and the guy fell backwards.”

The crowd thought the officer pushed the protester down and immediately became agitated, and people started throwing things, Carvell said.

The woman slammed her flagpole on the police vehicle windshield, Carvell said, and he heard something crash through the vehicle’s back windows but he couldn’t see what broke the glass.

Harrisburg police called Capitol Police to help get them out of the situation since protesters were surrounding two police vehicles.

When Capitol Police arrived dressed in riot gear, they approached protesters while beating their batons into their hands, apparently as a show of force, Carvell said.

People started to scatter somewhat and one man trying to back up from Capitol Police appeared to fall to the ground, Carvell said.

Carvell’s friend Tom Moran was one of two people who went to help the man up. That’s when streams of pepper spray started to hit Moran and a woman who was helping the downed protester.

“I saw the guy on the ground so I went to help him and I started hearing spray to my right,” Moran said. “I couldn’t tell who was spraying it.”

The first round of spray hit him along the entire right side of his body, he said, and the second round of spray him him on the left side of his head.

Video of the encounter posted on Twitter trigged much debate about who fired those first bursts of pepper spray, because it appeared that at least one spray may have come from a person acting like a protester.

Papenfuse on Friday announced that police believe they have evidence that someone other than police fired pepper spray during the melee. The mayor said he watched some of the officers’ body camera footage that showed “at least some of the pepper spray was not deployed by police," but one or possibly two protesters.

A few moments later, it’s clear from video that a Capitol Police officer deployed pepper spray.

During the unrest, a Harrsiburg police officer fired a less-lethal rifle at protesters that fires projectiles similar to paint balls. Court records said the officer fired the rounds to “protect himself and the other units from the people that were throwing objects.”

District Attorney Fran Chardo said the device also is used for marking suspect’s clothing in a crowd situation.

The officer fired 20 times at Thompson, according to a Facebook Live video Thompson posted after the incident. One round hit him in the leg causing a large bruise, which he displayed.

Thompson’s comments on his Facebook page were among the evidence used to support criminal charges against him.

Court records said he spoke on Facebook Live about his encounter with an officer named Christian Ribec. According to court records:

Thompson spelled Ribec’s name and said, “It’s alright. We got your name. We’re gonna find you and we’re gonna have some fun.”

He also allegedly said; “If it takes for me to go on for a shooting spree for this jawn to clear up, if it takes for me getting killed, I don’t care bro.”

Later in the video he talks about breaking the side of the police vehicle window and getting caught “throwing (expletive) I wasn’t supposed to.” The officer fired the less-lethal rounds at Thompson and Thompson said he told Ribec he wanted to kill him.

“I still want to,” Thompson said on his Facebook Live. “Sorry I say this jawn, but I want his (expletive) neck bro. I want his neck.”

The next day, during another Facebook Live, court records said Thompson again said, “All I want to do is find this man. If you know me, you know I can find out whatever the (expeletive) I want in 20 minutes. I don’t even care if I have to walk to this man’s house. I will walk to this man’s house and blank his (expletive) bro.”

Police are still investigating other possible crimes that may have occurred at the rally, said Police Sgt. Kyle Gautsch. He said police are reviewing photos, and videos from nearby buildings and social media posts and using facial-recognition software to identify the woman and others who allegedly hit officers, damaged police vehicles or possibly sprayed pepper spray on protesters or police.

Some of the challenges for investigators, said, include the size of the crowd and the fact that many people at the protest were wearing masks.

Adding to the difficulty: the officers at the scene who were surrounded by protesters at one point at Front and Forster streets were trying to pay attention to the people immediately around them while objects were being hurled at them.

A Capitol Police spokesman did not immediately respond to a request about their officers actions’ including using pepper spray against protesters.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to reflect that Thompson was released from jail on bond.

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