Image Credit: alchemicalmedia / youtube screenshot 
Viral footage from a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania suburb shows a police officer punching a demonstrator in the face and knocking them to the ground.
Protesters gathered on Friday on behalf of a black man named Jim Rogers who was killed in October 2021 after he was tased eight times by Pittsburgh law enforcement officers.
During the demonstration, Wilkinsburg police arrived and tried to get an unruly group to move from an intersection they were blocking.
As officers tried dispersing the crowd, many protesters became hostile and shoving matches broke out when one cop tried to make an arrest.
At one point, a protester grabbed the officer’s wrist to stop him from making an apprehension and a struggle ensued.
The officer wrestling with the protester struck them with a quick left hook and they fell like a sack of potatoes.
When the protester hit the pavement, a police K-9 could be seen running up to them, but the dog had its muzzle on and did not bite the individual.
Despite this being clearly shown on camera, other demonstrators shouted at the cops, claiming, “They put a dog on this person.”
They also say the officer hit a woman, but the demonstrator appears to be a biological male who identifies as a girl.
Various police departments then told everyone to get out of the street, arresting two who were marching after police approached them and told them to leave the intersection due to a demolition going on at the corner. @PGHCityPaper pic.twitter.com/8fKur2ZrkW
— Jared Wickerham (@WickPhoto) April 16, 2022
The protester was released soon after being arrested, and their “comrades” have already called for donations to their Cash App.
They are out and safe with community. You may support them via cashapp at $kiskeyancougar pic.twitter.com/JG0NIkL5rV
— Miracle. ESQ. MSW. (@MiracleEsq) April 16, 2022
Photos unearthed by journalist Andy Ngô show the punched protester, Vuestro Merced, previously sporting a beard.
More recent photos show Merced shaved and posing near a “Black Trans Lives Matter” sign.
Vuestro Merced, the militant #BLM protester who was punched by a black cop & fell to the ground in Pittsburgh after trying to forcefully prevent an arrest: pic.twitter.com/kiDpW0Svy2
— Andy Ngô
(@MrAndyNgo) April 18, 2022
Another Twitter user found a video Merced posted where they lead what is supposed to be a “workout” routine.
exercise instruction from the person who caught that left hook
pic.twitter.com/4wS2t2KIJ0
— teak_tree_turmoil (@teaktreeturmoil) April 18, 2022
This is the stereotypical modern-day leftist protester.