A leader of the Portland Proud Boys was shot in the foot during an anti-COVID protest in Olympia, Washington, social media reports show.
Live-streamers covering the protest against COVID-19 mandates near Washington’s state capitol showed Tusitala “Tiny” Toese bleeding from the foot or lower leg after five gunshots rang out in the mid-afternoon hours of Saturday, Sept. 4.
Local police taped off the scene at the Intercity Transit mall on State Avenue Northeast near Franklin Street, according to the footage, and medical personnel also responded.
It’s unclear who fired the shots that struck Toese, though the right-wing Proud Boys had been pursuing black-clad figures called antifa, a left-wing movement, in the minutes before the shooting.
The Portland Tribune is a media partner with KOIN 6 News
Earlier in the day, counter-protest supporter Alissa Azar said she was physically attacked and maced by Proud Boy members. The incident wasn’t captured on camera but a video shows several right-wingers dressed for combat calling out her name and then the sound of a woman screaming.
Toese, who stands six-feet-three-inches tall and weighs more than 300 pounds, has been a regular organizer of Proud Boys events in the Portland area and is known to openly participate in street brawls, including the rally that turned into a violent clash near a shuttered Kmart in east Portland on Aug. 22.
Toese was formerly known to be a top lieutenant of Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, but that group has been less active as Gibson faces a potential felony riot conviction.
The Vancouver, Washington resident was recently let off of probation after serving time in jail for a 2018 assault.
Authorities in Olympia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.