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Gardaí is investigating an assault that took place at a protest outside Leinster House on Saturday attended by far-right activists.
The protest was one of two demonstrations that took place in the city center on Saturday afternoon protesting Covid-19 restrictions and the wearing of masks.
Several dozen people gathered on Kildare Street to hear speakers denounce the pandemic restrictions. A small group of counter-protesters also attended, including veteran LGBT + activist Izzy Kamikaze.
Videos later appeared online showing Ms. Kamikaze with blood coming from a head injury. She said on social media that she had been hit with a piece of wood wrapped in a tricolor.
On Sunday, Ms. Kamikaze described “a wall” of protesters approaching her. “I was looking for a knife. I crossed my arms to show that I was not a threat, “he told The Irish Times.
She said she turned her head to check if her friend was okay and that’s when they hit her. “I didn’t see who hit me. I turned around a bit and then I was on the ground. “
Images shared on social media show masked protesters pushing some of the counter-protesters before Kamikaze falls to the ground. Gardaí then tries to separate the two groups and drive away the counter-protesters.
An ambulance was called and Ms. Kamikaze was taken to the hospital to receive treatment for a head injury. She was released in the early hours of Sunday.
In the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s protests, the Garda said in a statement that there had been no arrests or major incidents at the protests.
On Sunday, in an updated statement, the Garda said Leinster House officers “had to intervene between opposing groups of protesters. There were no arrests ”.
A spokeswoman said the Gardaí on Pearse Street are now investigating “an incident of assault that occurred during a protest,” but that the victim has not yet filed a formal complaint. “Investigations are ongoing,” he added.
Ms. Kamikaze said that she intends to make a statement to the Gardaí on Monday and also make a complaint about the way the incident was monitored.
Gardaí is known to have obtained clear CCTV footage of the attacker and was able to track him through the crowd despite the fact that he removed his jacket.
The second protest, which was attended by up to 2,000 people, began at Customs before the protesters marched towards government buildings.
It was organized by a group called Yellow Vest Ireland, which describes itself as a “popular movement” that “is not aligned with any political group, organization or politician”.
There were few signs of social distancing at the event and the protesters did not wear masks.
Many in the march carried banners with slogans such as “take off your mask” and “it’s just a common cold.”
“An Garda Síochána monitored a demonstration in Dublin city center on Saturday 12 September. An involved group met at Custom House Quay at approximately 1 pm and proceeded from there to the government buildings. Rolling road closures were established to facilitate the movement of those involved and the flow of traffic in the city center, “a Garda spokeswoman said of the wider protest.
The crowd was estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,000 people.
Yellow Vest Ireland encouraged attendees to bring flags during the march. “Yellow Vest Ireland wants everyone in Ireland to feel comfortable carrying their national flags to the march this Saturday,” he said on his social media platforms.
During the protest, some protesters stopped in front of the offices of the Journal, an online media outlet, where speakers criticized their reports on the Covid-19 pandemic.
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