Last Updated on February 17, 2022
Video of Charles Downs and his girlfriend being violently attacked by a mob of rioters after the November 17 Million MAGA March went viral with nearly 12 million views. 7 months later, Downs says that despite the media attention, he has not been contacted by D.C. Metro Police, the FBI, or any other law enforcement about the vicious attack.
Video shows Downs, 26, and his girlfriend, guided by police, enter a sidewalk filled with rioters. The couple had been visiting with a friend staying at the Harrington Hotel, above Harry’s Bar in Washington, D.C. only blocks away from the White House. When they left the bar, they found numerous streets closed due to civil unrest, and attempted to reach a street that was open in order to hail a cab or call an Uber to take them home.
They wound up being guided into a mob of violent rioters who punched Downs and his girlfriend repeatedly, and began throwing liquids at the couple after Downs wrapped himself around his girlfriend to attempt to leave peacefully. Downs told National File that he and his girlfriend were doused with unknown liquids by the rioters, and suggested some may have been bodily fluids.
https://twitter.com/DrewHLive/status/1327740865545203717
Speaking to National File, Downs said that no law enforcement has approached him regarding the event, even as the entire United States are currently enveloped in a dragnet search for individuals who trespassed in the U.S. Capitol on January 6. In the video, said downs, “You see the cops grabbing us and pushing us back, but after they did that, they’re like, ‘Leave. Get out. You need to go home.'”
“I don’t want to say all of these individual officers were terrible, I believe they were following the orders of [D.C. Mayor] Muriel Bowser. But at the same time, you witness something that horrific, you don’t even care to ask if they want to file a police report or anything?” Downs added, “I feel extremely let down by my local government.” Downs also explained that his girlfriend was left in shock from the events, and he was left battered and bruised.
“My girlfriend Bethany, she didn’t sleep for three days,” said Downs. “I just wanted to make sure I was there for Bethany to make sure she was okay. Luckily she wasn’t that hurt, because I took a lot of punches.” He adds, “I was concussed, I had bruises all up and down my body, it was kind of hard to walk for like a week.”
Downs believes that the years he spent swimming competitively are the only reason he was left standing after the assault. “I swam for 18 years, and what they did when they first attacked me, was they punched me in the abs and hit me in the back of the legs. I think the average person would have fallen,” he explained. “I didn’t fall, and thank God I didn’t fall, because if I didn’t fall I’d be a vegetable or dead.” When he didn’t collapse, “It kind of scared them, and I was able to grab Bethany and we were able to start pushing out.”
Still, Downs says he hopes supporters of President Trump will not shy away from attending such events. “That’s the whole thing, right? Intimidate people not to do things, don’t be activists, don’t care about election integrity, don’t care about what they did in 2020, shut up, take it,” he explained. “I didn’t want people to get that message. What they did with the election is disgusting.”
National File also asked Downs about the unidentified man wearing a blue shirt who appeared on the video and helped him and his girlfriend escape the crowd of Antifa. Perhaps underscoring Downs’ hopeful message and call for political action, he told National File that he had never met this man before, and still does not know his identity. “I have no idea who that was, and I’ve been trying to figure out who that is to this day. I’d like to know who that is, he helped us a lot.”
While Downs is upset that police were seemingly unable or unwilling to help him and his girlfriend out of the violent incident, and now seem totally disinterested in finding those who attacked the couple on camera, he lays the blame at the feet of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
“You’re the mayor of the United States Capital. The United States Capital should be the ultimate free speech zone,” said Downs. “You’re the mayor of our nation’s capital and you are not protecting free speech and first amendment rights, you should be ashamed of yourself.” He added, “She has no business trying to make DC a state and trying to be a United States Senator.”
