Police probe after veteran, 80, 'surrounded and knocked to ground' by furious anti-Ice protesters

Police have launched a probe after an 80-year-old veteran was surrounded and knocked to the ground by protesters opposing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).

The veteran, who remained anonymous, said he attended a June 10 protest in Washington state.

The man - who requested to remain nameless in fear of retaliation - attended the protest, held in Burien, Washington, 12 miles south of downtown Seattle, to back Ice.

He told Washington outlet The Highline Journal he was holding a small sign as the protest began near a Starbucks.

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Protest organisers urged attendees to hold signs reading "Ice kidnapped your neighbour here", and similar signs were seen at the event.

Video showed a woman directing the verbal attacks toward the 80-year-old, and a man wearing a shirt with anti-fascist messaging engaging him.

A woman - shouting "you're down!" - then struck the veteran from behind, causing him to fall to the ground.

The man said he was surrounded by between 10 and 12 people before he was brought down.

At least one protester shouted "just ignore him" during the incident, the veteran added.

The 80-year-old described the incident as a "cowardly attack", adding that he was expressing his free speech.

He said: "I have the same First Amendment rights as everyone else."

The veteran said he planned to continue to participate in protests, despite the incident.

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"For evil to succeed, all that is necessary is for good men to do nothing," he added.

The Sheriff's Office for King County in Washington confirmed the incident had occurred and documented the assault.

"I can confirm from the report that a man was assaulted, though the suspect took off and has not been identified at this time," Brandyn Hull, Communications Manager for the King County Sheriff's Office said.

Mr Hull said several witnesses and the veteran had been interviewed, but no arrests had been made.

A Facebook posted by the Sheriff's Office appealed for witnesses, describing the man as a white man with short brown hair and facial hair.

"On June 10, during an anti-Ice demonstration at SW 148th St and Ambaum Blvd in Burien, there was an altercation between two people, and the suspect punched the victim, another man, several times," King County Sheriff's Office said.

The 80-year-old said that "not everyone" was unkind, noting that a woman returned a pair of sunglasses which had been knocked off during the scuffle.

In May, a jury in Spokane, Washington, found three two non-binary anti-Ice protesters guilty of conspiring to impede federal officers and a third protester guilty of aiding and abetting others and conspiracy to impede officers.

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