NEVADA CITY, Calif. — The Nevada City Police Department arrested a man they are calling one of the "primary aggressors" at a recent Black Lives Matter protest.
According to a Facebook post, police arrested James Steven Smith and charged him with robbery and assault on a person that likely produced a great bodily injury.
On Sunday, Aug. 9, counter-protesters who claimed to be associated with Back the Blue, a group that supports police officers and departments, violently confronted Black Lives Matter protesters in Nevada City. Police said Smith body-slammed a Black Lives Matter protester and threw another protester's cell phone in the sewer.
Someone who was watching the Black Lives Matter rally spoke to ABC10 about how he was attacked while not even participating in the rally. He started to capture video of the violence around him after he saw a counter-protester throw someone's cell phone in the sewer.
"[A counter-protester] then grabs the phone out of my hand, and in attempts to retrieve that phone, I was taken to the ground by him and what could only be considered like a professional body slam," the man said.
Nevada City Police Chief Chad Ellis confirmed the man filed a police report.
"We had three officers on duty," Ellis said. "They were advising individuals who file reports to contact them at a later time. It wouldn't have been realistic to take down identifying information about what happened to keep people away from each other as best as they could."
Smith was booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility. Police said they are still investigating others who were involved in the altercations at the weekend protest.
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