"We are at a loss to understand why the president of the United States would make such dark, dangerous, and untrue accusations against him," Martin Gugino's attorney said.
President Donald Trump is under fire for tweeting a right-wing conspiracy theory that a 75-year-old protester pushed by police in Buffalo, New York was an "ANTIFA provocateur." "75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?" Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.
In the tweet, Trump also mentioned the far-right, pro-Trump cable network, One America News, which appears to be where the unfounded claim comes from.
Last week, two Buffalo police officers were seen on video pushing Gugino to the ground before walking by as he lay with blood pooling around his ear. The officers, Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe were later suspended without pay and charged with assault.
After the officers were suspended, 57 members of the department resigned from the special response squad in protest. As for the claim that Gugino could block communications with his cell phone — it's simply not true, according to one tech expert.
"Absolutely not — that could not happen," said Logan Scott. "The police equipment operates on different frequencies. For a cellphone to interfere with police equipment, that does not happen."
Gugino, a long time activist from Buffalo, was seriously injured and remains hospitalized, his attorney told Inside Edition.
"We are at a loss to understand why the president of the United States would make such dark, dangerous, and untrue accusations against him," his attorney said.
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