This is a great story
HOW A MARINE CORPS VETERAN DISARMED A RIOTER DURING SEATTLE PROTEST
By Joshua Skovlund | June 02, 2020
A Marine Corps veteran turned security contractor, who asked that his name not be used for security reasons, unintentionally took the internet by storm after a video surfaced of him disarming a Seattle rioter who had stolen a police officer’s AR-15 from a destroyed squad car Saturday.
The preliminary details of what happened have become distorted on social media, with misconceptions about a second rifle that was slung on his back as well as why he was at the protests that developed following George Floyd’s death in police custody. Coffee or Die obtained an exclusive interview with the contractor to set the record straight on what happened that day.
The contractor served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps infantry in 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, Alpha Company. After separating from service, he entered into his current career of military contracting, which has included working as a firearms instructor and in security, along with starting a community group on Instagram called Firewatch Official, a page dedicated to helping military and first responder personnel share their stories and quell demons that some carry with them. He said that he is in-between jobs, and due to financial strains incurred by the pandemic, is also in the beginning stages of starting his own company. “When you get to the bottom, it’s like, where are you going to go but up?” he said.
security contractor seattle riot
The contractor lining up a shot. Photo courtesy of the contractor/Instagram.
Being introduced to firearms at a young age helped him view guns as tools and develop safe handling practices. He said his father taught him the intricacies of firearms. “It’s a passion, it’s a hobby. It’s obsession. It’s a love. It’s the thing I choose to make my life around,” he explained. He was naturally drawn to working with firearms and in a career that allows him to use them. And he was in the right place at the right time during the protests and riots on the streets of Seattle.
The contractor was hired to protect the crew of reporters from a local Fox News affiliate out of Seattle while they covered the protests and riots in the city, although he’s been accused of being at the protest to assert himself. “I was working and doing my job, trying to pay bills,” he said. “I’d rather be home playing with my dog — [laughs] my wife’s dog, she would kill me if she heard that one!”
He thought through every step of this contract and then some, starting with the decision to carry his pistol in a bag because he wanted to blend in. The contractor also expressed concern over the hundreds of people potentially bumping into him and trying to lift a side holstered pistol or his spare magazines on his belt. He dressed in multiple layers in case he was “made” by the rioters and would need to switch up to obscure his identity
Continued…
https://coffeeordie.com/marine-seattle-protest/