Bennito L. Kelty
Audio By Carbonatix
A twenty-year-old Denver man who stole a pair of sunglasses off the face of a New York Giants fan shouting homophobic slurs at No Kings protesters has raised more than $1,000 through a GoFundMe campaign for his legal defense.
“I was at the no kings protest and got arrested for second degree assault when I only took the guys glasses,” Jose Cardenas details on his Gofundme page that launched October 22. “I now have court November 3rd.”
After his arrest, Cardenas’s charge was dropped from assault to theft, the Denver Police Department told media on October 21.
Cardenas was filmed at the No Kings protest in Denver on October 18, carrying a skateboard and following a group of older men wearing merchandise from the New York Giants, who were in town to play the Denver Broncos on October 19. The men were chanting phrases such as “God bless Trump!” and “Get a job!” at protesters. Cardenas appears in the video shortly after the specs-wearing Giants fan leading the chant starts flipping protesters off. Cardenas can be seen holding a skateboard, wearing a black-and-white Zoo York beanie, black shirt and dark jeans.
Shortly after the man leading the chant yells a homophobic slur towards No Kings protesters, Cardena is seen plucking the sunglasses off his face, and then running away. The incident was filmed in front of Union Station on 17th Street, and spread widely on social media last week before attracting some short-lived national media attention.
Cardenas hasn’t responded to a request for comment. According to his GoFundMe page, he organized the campaign himself and is asking for $1,400 to “assist with legal defense.” A week before his hearing, he’s raised $1,085 through 32 small donations.
The Giants fan who lost his sunglasses is still unidentified. In the video, he briefly sprints after Cardenas before face-planting ass-up into the pavement.
After getting up, the Giants fan keeps chasing Cardenas and then is tripped by another person; he sustains a gash over his left eyelid that bleeds during the rest of the video. A man can be heard in the video shouting, “You ran into me!” before getting shoved by the irate, bleeding Giants fan, who also pushed away protesters trying to calm him down.
According to DPD, the person who tripped the Giants fan is still unidentified.
“DPD is working to identify that suspect and encourages anyone with information about the suspect to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers,” according to DPD.
Meanwhile, Cardenas has a hearing on Tuesday, November 3, at the Denver County Court related to his theft charge, according to court records.
Thousands of protesters turned out for No Kings protest in Denver, and it got testy as the day went on. Law enforcement used smoke and pepper balls to move protesters away from the highway twice, with DPD reporting thirteen arrests related to the demonstration that day, including Cardenas, who was the youngest person to end up in cuffs. Charges related to the arrests include graffiti, resisting arrest and throwing objects.
