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By: Staff Reporter

Much has been made in recent days about a confrontation between opposing factions at a Rolling Patriots event near Sheridan Park in the Town of Tonawanda on Saturday December 5.

The Rolling Patriots announced on Facebook that they would do a “slow roll,” a car parade through the area beginning at 2 p.m. in order to raise money to help a family that was “being put out of their home.”

The description for the slow roll event given by the Rolling Patriots group.

Their vehicles are known to have Trump-Pence flags, “Thin Blue Line” American flags and banners critical of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

As the Patriots’ vehicles headed south on Colvin Ave, counter protesters stood along the sidewalk holding up Biden-Harris or anti-Trump “Nope” signs.

At least one person gave the finger to Rolling Patriots as they passed.

A confrontation erupted near Sheridan park about 2 p.m. between the counter protesters and another group, supportive of the Rolling Patriots, called the Watchmen.

A group photo of the New York Watchmen.

The Watchmen, formed in 2020 by Charles Pellien, a former police and corrections officer,  are a group of mostly white men, who describe themselves as “a peaceful group of concerned citizens” and deny they are a militia.

Those who oppose them call them, “white supremacists.”

Several members of the Watchmen told the Reporter that the counter protesters are linked to Black Lives Matter and Antifa, who they claim are prone to violence.

The counter protestors appeared to be entirely white.

In an interview with the Buffalo News in September, Pellien described the Watchmen as follows: “with different groups coming into neighborhoods and threatening people and damaging businesses and stuff like that, we’re just a group of people that want to organize and look out for one another, that’s all.”

A female member of the group described the Watchmen as a “larger community neighborhood watch to protect innocent people of all races from riots and vandalism.”

What Happened on Saturday, December 5th, 2020

The groups in attendance at the event were the Marching Patriots, the Rolling Patriots, and members of the Watchmen.

The counter-protestors were said to be members of Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA. The Reporter was unable to confirm this was true.

A widely disseminated video on social media shows a member of the Watchmen assaulting a counter protestor. However, this video appears to have been selectively edited.

A video of the entire incident which has not been edited is included below:

In the full video, obtained by the Niagara Reporter, it is clear that a member of the counter protesters’ group provoked the fight by throwing something described as a pepper bomb at the Watchmen.

Then the Watchmen, identified by his handle as “Bjorn August,” went after the person who threw the pepper bomb, as seen in the cropped video.

Below you can see three separate screenshots of a member of the counter protestors  – who are all white – shooting what appears to be an airsoft gun filled with pepper spray.

In this screenshot from the video, you can see an individual dressed in black preparing to shoot something at another person.

In this screenshot, you can see the moment something is fired at a Watchmen member by the counter-protestor who is wearing all black.

Pellien, admitted August aggressively pursued the individual who threw the pepper bomb.

“Of course, he reacted,” said Pellien, “and he went over and squared off with the guy and threw a punch. It was one guy against a group of them. But then more of our guys arrived. We had seven of our guys up against about forty of them. So it was a fair fight. The counter protesters backed off and the police ‘lackadaisically’ tried to get between everybody. That was the extent of the violence.”

None of the events leading up to the confrontation – namely the counter protester shooting a pepper bomb at one of the Watchmen was reported by other media outlets.

The 40 or so counter protesters were white, and included individuals who appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties and had hammers, riot gear, and gas masks.

Below you can see photos of these individuals.

You can see a counter-protestor with a hammer.

A counter-protestor wearing a gas mask.

A counter-protestor wearing a helmet and protective gear.

A counter-protestor wearing paramilitary gear.

After the fight, with police on hand, counter protesters appeared to heckle the Watchmen calling them “white supremacists” and “racists.”

The video footage, posted with this article, indicates that the Watchmen did not start hostilities at the event.

Pellien said that his group is not there to cause problems but will not permit the local communities to be subjected to the riots or vandalism that Black Lives Matter and Antifa have caused in other cities.

He added that peaceful groups like the Rolling Patriots should be free to conduct their events without disruption.

“Everyone better realize that we are not going to tolerate rioting in our communities. We promise you that,” he said.

Pelliem said his group is composed of “law enforcement officers, corrections officers, special ops veterans, Marines, martial arts black belts, body builders, bikers, patriots, and some very tough women all ready to Back the Blue if needed.”