KENOSHA, WI — An old man who was defending a small business and a charitable organization that were burning down during the riots in Kenosha on Monday, August 24, was attacked and beaten by looters.
According to a GoFundMe page that was organized to help with the medical expenses of the man, he was at the scene of one of the riots trying to stop a fire at Sue and Keith’s magical mattress shop because he is friends with the store owners. The business was burning and all of its contents got completely destroyed during the riot.
In a video uploaded to Facebook by an account named “Protest The Protesters” it can be seen that then the elderly man ran to the entrance of Danish Brotherhood Lodge 14, an organization dedicated to local and national charity, to stop looters from entering. A person threw an object at the man who was using a fire extinguisher to push people away from the organization. Afterwards, an individual who appeared to be one of the looters, approached the old man from behind and punched him. The man fell to ground and started bleeding from his head. The video shows that some people who were close, including the person recording, assisted him and moved him away from the building which was on fire.
On Wednesday, Sue and Keith, who are friends with the man, said that due to the attack he had his jaw broken in two places and will need to have his jaw wired. The GoFundMe that was launched to help with his medical expenses will also help to relocate the mattress business.
“I have seen these three folks help neighborhood people for years with money, food, mattresses when no one could afford to pay. They have served the Kenosha community selflessly and so didn’t deserve this horrible attack,” said Yvonne Rich, the organizer of the fundraiser. “I have known this wonderful folks for years. They are honest, hard working and honorable people.”
The Danish Brotherhood Lodge 14, which started 128 years ago, also launched a fundraiser to rebuild their banquet hall and bar that was burned.
“We have been part of this community for many generations and would like to keep that going. We know times are hard but we are asking for help so we can rebuild our lodge and continue to be part of the community,” said Roger Willems in the description for this GoFundMe.
