BLM Protester Who Had Confederate Statue Toppled Onto His Head Battles With Traumatic Brain Injury
All 19 accused rioters charged with felonies in connection with the toppling, including Virginia state senator Louise Lucas, had their charges dropped. Chris Menahan InformationLiberation Jul. 28, 2021
Chris Green, the Black Lives Matter protester who had a Confederate statue toppled onto his head last year by a group of BLM rioters in Portsmouth, Virginia nearly died and spent the last year battling to recover from a likely permanent traumatic brain injury.
Chris' Journey | One year after a Confederate statue hit Chris Green in Portsmouth, he fights his way back from a traumatic brain injury
Author: Adriana De Alba
Published: 5:37 PM EDT June 10, 2021
One year since protesters pulled down part of the Confederate monument n Olde Towne, hitting Chris Green, the husband and father continues to fight his way back from the severe brain injury he suffered.
For the first time since the incident on June 10, 2020, his wife, Tonieh Brisbane-Green, shared video of his journey. In that video, you can see Chris up and walking.
"Through continued rehab, my husband has slowly started to gain back his independence," said Brisbane-Green, who explained that Green has weekly therapy sessions.
"I will say right now he has a mind of a 13-year-old because one of the major impacts was his communication, his understanding, and problem-solving," said Brisbane-Green. "He doesn't have that capacity like he used to, it causes me to make all the decisions best for him, our kids, and our family."
Chris is blind in one eye and lost his hearing in one ear, but he's making progress. He's learning how to eat and walk again, and his speech is slowly coming back.
[...] Doctors have told her that they can't guarantee if Chris ever will return to the way he was before the statue hit him.
WATCH:
13 News Now reported on June 9 that protesters felt entitled to destroy the statue because police were just sitting by watching and they have no regrets.
A year since protesters tore down the Confederate monument in Portsmouth, one demonstrator says she has 'no regrets'
The events of that day led to state Senator Louise Lucas and other community leaders facing felony charges that were later dismissed.
Author: Dana Smith
Published: 5:58 PM EDT June 9, 2021
Thursday marks one year since protesters tore down part of the Confederate monument in Portsmouth, and severely injuring a man in the process.
A woman who was there earlier that day and faced felony charges for her actions says she has no regrets about protesting.
Raquel Ammons said her story is about more than just that night.
"I don't regret being there, I don't regret demonstrating because I was on the right side of history," she said.
Ammons was there to lend her voice to the long-standing battle over a monument that honored the Confederacy and marked the spot where the government once whipped slaves.
"I was told I could spray paint the statue, along with many others," she said. "And once I kind of watched and saw, the cops are just watching, they're not doing anything, I felt well within my rights to also participate."
She wasn't there when a statue fell on top of Chris Green later that day.
"I was horrified," she said. "I felt like the city had done a grave mis-justice to its people by not handling this years ago."
Note: she blamed the city for BLM rioters toppling a statue onto Green's head.
But the events of that day set off a chain reaction in the weeks that followed. The courts charged 19 people with felonies, including Ammons, NAACP leaders, and state senator Louise Lucas.
"Felony destruction to a monument resulting in over $1,000 in damage," Ammons said.
Later, the city fired its police chief, Angela Greene, after she issued those warrants.
Ammons and the rest of the "Portsmouth 19" surrendered to police custody. Later, the charges against her - as well as the others - were dismissed.