Man Pulls Gun on Anti-Trump Protesters at Washington Rally

A man wearing a Donald Trump cap was caught on camera pulling out a gun and pointing it towards rival protesters during a political demonstration in Woodinville, Washington state on the weekend.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident, which happened by a retail center on NE 175th and 140th Avenue just before 4 p.m. on Saturday, according to local reports.

The video footage, reportedly captured by 19-year-old Lanna Garcia, shows what appears to be a confrontation between two groups of political demonstrators—one supporting Trump and the other former Vice President Joe Biden.

In the clip, a young man can be seen pulling out a gun and pointing it towards a group of people including the person filming.

Shouts and expletives can be heard as people shout: "Gun" and "What's your name? I'm calling the police."

The man with the gun can soon be seen retreating away from the group with someone else holding him by the arm as people continue to shout and swear at each other.

How the confrontation unfolded

Garcia told Q13 Fox Seattle that she was the one who filmed the video, which has been widely circulating social media.

After rewatching the footage, she told the broadcaster: "It definitely makes my heart race a little fast, and makes me kind of shaky back to where I was."

It all began when two small clusters of young anti-Trump demonstrators—mostly ages 16 to 20—had gathered on the street corners opposite a pro-Trump group, according to The Seattle Times.

The protesters were reportedly chanting at each other while drivers honked their horns as they drove past, a resident who is active in social-justice protests told the newspaper on Sunday.

Witnesses told media outlets that a bucket of liquid was hurled at one of the Trump protesters. In the footage, he can be seen wiping his face after pulling out the gun, while one of the pro-Biden supporters yells: "It's water, you snowflake."

The woman, who asked The Seattle Times to remain anonymous, said she heard a bucket drop and saw a man backing off before he brandished a gun in the direction of the rival protesters.

She said: "My friend and I ran into traffic. He had lowered the gun, and we put ourself between the gun and the children."

Garcia told Q13 Fox Seattle that she was not the person who threw the bucket, but that the man's reaction to pull out a gun was not the right way to respond.

She said: "To come up to people who were not even involved—with a gun loaded and cocked—while I'm recording you in broad daylight while there are cars passing and we're saying he has a gun, just the audacity of this man is incredible."

What the police have said

Sergeant Ryan Abbott told The Seattle Times that there was about 15 people involved in the incident.

He said that officers have spoken with witnesses from both sides, are sourcing surveillance footage from nearby buildings and are trying to establish what sort of liquid was thrown.

Abbott told the newspaper: "There's a lot of different stories [and] we're trying to figure out what happened."

He said the situation escalated when someone flung a bucket of liquid at the man. Afterwards, the man complained that his eyes were burning and he was checked by firefighters, Abbott said.

The man reportedly told officials that he was trying to protect family and friends when he pulled out the gun.

Woodinville Police Chief Katie Larson told Q13 Fox Seattle that investigators say a man threw a bucket with five gallons of liquid and then the bucket itself onto the man with the gun, an action that she said is an assault.

She said that the incident is under investigation. As of Sunday, no arrests had been reported or charges filed. Newsweek has contacted the King County Sheriff's Office for a statement.