Christopher Svochak was standing on a public sidewalk near the American Airlines Center in Dallas on September 10, preaching the Bible to anyone who would listen, when a column of black-clad protesters linked arms and tried to force him into traffic. Two of them — Hunter Holmes, 23, and Adrian Garcia, 19 — were arrested for assault.
The Republican Midterm Convention had drawn the usual coalition of grievance. A group calling itself the Dallas Against the Trump Agenda Coalition — sixteen organizations strong — organized a march from Pike Park, roughly a mile from the convention venue. The roster included the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and an offshoot called the Community Liberation Brigade, which traces its roots to the now-disbanded Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club. They marched toward the American Airlines Center, where President Trump and Vice President JD Vance were scheduled to appear.
Dallas police in riot gear, on horseback and bikes, met them at a security perimeter hundreds of feet from the venue. That's where the march stalled. And that's where the confrontation with Svochak — leader of a street preaching group called Kingdom Reconcilers — turned physical.
"Because I didn't want to go into traffic and I had no other way to go, I tried to walk through two of their arms," Svochak told the Christian Post. The protesters, some wearing transgender patches and black bloc gear, weren't interested in a conversation.
"I think it got more and more aggressive as they realized that we weren't going to leave," Svochak said.
Police arrived fast. "They had horses, they had bikes, they all came in, they swooped in, grabbed these two Antifa members, locked them up, got our statements," Svochak recounted.
Holmes was charged with obstructing a highway and two counts of misdemeanor assault. Garcia was charged with obstructing a highway, misdemeanor assault, and interfering with public duties. Neither victim required medical treatment.
Rick Majumdar, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization who participated in the march, told Fox News the gathering was meant to "protest the Republican agenda, the Trump agenda and all its policies." When asked about the arrests, Majumdar claimed the detained individuals were "trying to draw people away from rioting provocateurs."
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization issued a statement calling the march a stand "against the billionaires class" outside a "near empty RNC." The convention where the sitting president was delivering the closing address to a sold out crowd.
One group showed up to the American Airlines Center with Bibles and a megaphone. The other showed up in black bloc with sixteen allied organizations and a plan to obstruct a highway. Dallas PD made two arrests at McKinney and Payne Streets around 11 a.m. CT, and both suspects were booked before lunch.
Sixteen organizations. Two arrests. Zero ambiguity about who started it.