Anti-Illegal Immigration Protesters Attacked at 'Mostly Peaceful' May Day Rally

As NewsBusters reported Sunday, a May Day rally turned ugly in Santa Cruz, California, Saturday when some attendees started a riot breaking windows and defacing property.

City officials estimate that at least $100,000 worth of damage was done. 

A little north in San Francisco, three people supporting Arizona's new anti-illegal immigration law were attacked at that city's May Day event.

Despite the violence, the reporter for ABC-TV affiliate KGO used an offshoot of "mostly peaceful" to describe the festivities (video follows with partial transcript and commentary):

LISA AMIN GULEZIAN, REPORTER: Allan, for the most part the event was peaceful, but just about an hour ago, three people were attacked and two others were arrested. The people who were assaulted were part of the Minutemen demonstration in favor of Arizona's new immigration law.

They said a large group of immigrants' rights supporters followed them to the BART station on Market Street and started punching and kicking them, and calling them names.

PARKER WILSON, BAY AREA ANARCHIST: They said we were racists, and that we were against them, and against their town, and against San Francisco, and what they were saying. They said we needed to get out and they called us racists, and that we need to go home. And then they just attacked my friends and me.

Readers are reminded of what NewsBusters reported last Monday about "mostly peaceful" immigration protests.

I guess this reporter got the memo from 3,000 miles away.

That said, KGO did a follow-up report Sunday on the aftermath and cleanup of the riot in Santa Cruz the previous day. The reporter on the scene, Cecilia Vega, surprisingly described what happened as "ugly":

As these protests are likely to continue across the country, some with "ugly" behavior, will reporters still call them "mostly peaceful" or more honestly use Vega's description?

Stay tuned.