Antifa Suspect Benjamin Anthony Varela Charged in Shooting of Anti-Covid Vax Mandate Protester

Watch the moment the antifa shooting suspect (Benjamin Anthony Varela, of Olympia, Wash.) is told by a detective that he's getting charged with first-degree assault while armed with a deadly weapon, a class A felony. Full: https://t.co/Jrpm9Ojt9R pic.twitter.com/ySAyjCZL77

— Andy Ngô 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) September 28, 2021

On Sept. 4, a couple dozen Antifa from around the Pacific Northwest traveled to the Washington state Capitol building to try to shut down an anti-COVID vaccine mandate protest. The black-clad group was met by the rally's volunteer right-wing security, who included Proud Boys members. When the Antifa group ran to the Intercity Transit Station, one of their masked members turned around and fired five 9mm pistol rounds in the direction of the right-wing group, which was about 50 feet behind, according to security footage. Proud Boys member Tusitala Toese was injured in the shooting.

Varela, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, deleted most of his social media accounts before his arrest, but posts still available on Twitter show he corresponded back and forth with the Spokane and Olympia DSA chapters as well as Libcom.org, an anarchist-Communist website. Prior to deleting his Twitter account, his bio read, "professional anarchist, thug, and paid protester." His YouTube account, which is still online but doesn’t have any videos available to the public, features a red and black Antifa flag as its profile image. According to the affidavit, Varela ran into an alley behind the Union Gospel Mission after the shooting and discarded his black uniform.

[...] At the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, Varela wrote: "Start hurting people, the coronavirus is going to provide great cover for a real revolution." He called for people to take up arms. The same month, he posted a rant wishing that both conservatives and liberals die of the coronavirus. In 2018, he wrote, "9/11 was good because the US is a Nazi state so we deserved it."

NEW - #Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says "normal life" to come back “within a year" with "annual vaccinations" He seems to be the one that is calling the shots not our governments. pic.twitter.com/THGwj3nhx0

— La French ConAction..🇫🇷 (@LFConaction) September 27, 2021