White nationalist Richard Spencer denied being a neo-Nazi just before being slugged in the face by a hooded assailant during the inauguration of Donald Trump today.
Video that surfaced on Twitter this afternoon showed Spencer, one of the founders of the so-called “alt-right,” talking with protesters and claiming neo-nazis hated him. The video then shows an assailant, who appears to be white, punching Spencer on the side of the face and running away.
Richard Spencer got punched in the face during the protests at Trump’s #inauguration pic.twitter.com/oQAwtbtEeT
— Gender-Professecs (@MrTrunney) January 20, 2017
Spencer became notorious earlier this year when video surfaced of him shouting “Hail Trump” and wondering aloud if Jews are really people in front of a crowd of people giving Nazi-like salutes in a hotel ballroom.
Following the incident, Spencer tweeted that he had been assaulted by antifa, the right-wing slang term for anti-fascists, and that he could “take a punch.”
I was just physically assaulted twice by antifas. No serious damage. I can take a punch.
— Richard ???? Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) January 20, 2017