Fishtown 'Vigilante' Accused Of Assaulting 2 People At Protest

PHILADELPHIA — Charges have been filed in connection with the assault of two people in Philadelphia's Fishtown section on June 1 when a group of armed men roved the neighborhood in an effort to protect it from potential looters and vandals.

District Attorney Larry Krasner and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said George Graf, 36, of Philadelphia was charged with felony criminal conspiracy to engage in aggravated assault, one count of criminal conspiracy to engage in simple assault, and two counts each of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Graf was charged after the group of armed men confronted peaceful protesters and others in front of the 26th Police District on Girard Avenue in Fishtown June 1.

He is alleged to have been part of the group, some of whom wielded bats, clubs, and other items.

The DA's office said numerous physical assaults and threats of violence were reported at the scene and posted on social media. Additionally, the public has submitted dozens of complaints, along with video and photo evidence, to the DA's Special Investigations Unit.

Video and photographic evidence, along with eyewitness interviews, helped Philadelphia Police and District Attorney’s Office investigators identify Graf as a co-conspirator in an assault on the evening of June 1st involving the two complainants.

The first complainant, off-duty WHYY producer Jon Ehrens was filming interactions between anti-racism protesters and groups of individuals who claimed to be defending the police and neighborhood.

Authorities claim Graf followed Ehrens before asking more than once why he was filming the scene.

That interaction is captured on video and surveillance video shows Graf following one complainant as he moves through a crowd, the DA's office said.

More video showed Graf pointing at the complainant before motioning two times to a group of individuals to follow Ehrens, the DA's office said.

During a physical altercation that ensued, Ehrens was punched multiple times while on the ground, resulting in a broken nose, fractured maxilla, and other injuries.

The second complainant, a woman who was with Ehrens, was pushed into trash cans while attempting to intervene, resulting in sustained minor bruising. No arrest was made at the scene, despite a large police presence in the vicinity.

Graf, according to the Philadelphia inquirer, pleaded guilty to simple assault in Philadelphia in 2004 and in Bristol, Bucks County in 2007.

City leaders including Outlaw and Krasner have denounced threatening, harassing, and assaultive behavior toward protesters during several incidents across the city including in Fishtown and Marconi Plaza in South Philly.

“Our partnership with the Office of the District Attorney in the investigation, arrest, and impending prosecution of George Graf, for a senseless assault that occurred on June 1, 2020, in Fishtown, magnifies that we have been clear and consistent in that vigilantism and the taking of the law in one's own hands will not be tolerated," Outlaw said. "In collaboration with our partner law enforcement agencies, we will continue to vigorously investigate assaults and other acts of lawlessness that have been committed, and will bring to justice those persons responsible."