The March Against Sharia rally on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol building in Harrisburg turned ugly on Saturday when an Antifa protester assaulted a state police trooper and his horse as law enforcement officials attempted to control a crowd on the 1200 block of North 6th Street.
A Pennsylvania State Police corporal and his horse, Samson, were viciously attacked with a nail-studded pole while attempting to relocate the crowd. The perpetrator, identified by the Harrisburg Bureau of Police as Lisa Simon, allegedly used a flag pole embedded with nails to strike the corporal's horse in the side of the neck.
Police state that Simon attacked the horse while attempting to obstruct law enforcement from performing their duties. Simon allegedly resisted arrest after she was apprehended by city police officers. According to the website Harrisburg100, the injuries to the state trooper and his horse were minor.
Fox43 reports that Lisa Simon, 23, is from Philadelphia. Her preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 6.
Antifa member could face lengthy prison sentence
While Samson's injuries were not severe, Simon is facing serious charges that may result in her spending several years behind bars. She is expected to be charged with aggravated assault of a police officer, as well with numerous lesser offenses such as taunting a police animal, possession of a prohibited weapon, obstructing a law enforcement function, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
Saturday's demonstration in Harrisburg was part of a nationwide effort to protest against Islamic Sharia law. According to U.S. News and World Report, about 60 anti-Sharia protesters gathered on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol and clashed with between 30 and 40 Antifa counter-protesters, who were clad in black masks.
Similar demonstrations were held in about twenty cities throughout the country as part of the "March Against Sharia," sponsored by Act For America.
Who is ACT for America?
According to the group's website, ACT for America is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan grassroots national security organization, boasting a membership in excess of 500,000 (with more than one thousand affiliated volunteer groups across the nation).
While the group states that its objective is to act as the "NRA for national security," the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center has designated ACT for America an anti-Muslim hate group.
