On a pedestrian walkway above the 101 freeway in San Rafel, the recall election took a wrong turn on Sunday afternoon.
A group of pro-recall demonstrators says they were making their voices heard when a man approached them with a knife in hand.
“He was slashing our signs. And he slashed one sign completely down. It’s completely torn and destroyed,” said Tief Gibbs, a member of the group.
She didn’t witness the event herself, but she spoke on behalf of others who did to ABC7.
Gibbs says one of the demonstrators confronted him, trying to stop the assailant.
“The assailant came towards him and pushed him back and started punching him,” she said.
After the attack, the knife-wielding assailant fled on foot, leaving his victim with a fractured skull and broken jaw.
The incident angered the rallygoers but Gibbs says the attack is nothing new.
“We’re in a situation here where freedom of speech is in danger,” Gibbs said.
“We don’t do that kind of stuff. We don’t attack people who we disagree with. That side attacks the people they disagree with. We don’t do that. We allow for free speech. We actually, we want free speech,” said Gibbs.
San Rafael police report that the suspect might face charges of assault with a deadly weapon. Unfortunately, the assailant is still on the run.
“Currently we’re following all leads to try and track down our suspect and try and identify who our suspect is,” said Sergeant Christopher Duncan.
