Fort Bragg protesters who suffered drive-by pellet peppering on Saturday assured by police response
Unknown at this point if attack was politically motivated or not
(Editor’s note-another witness provided an account of this shooting-splattering-peppering attack. There seems to be no word in the English language to describe such terrifying foolishness. That account was added to the end of the story in purple) (Second update- Fort Bragg Police sent information about what they are doing, also posted at the end of the story in orange)
Vietnam veteran Wayne Barnes said he has been shot at and he’s been arrested for protesting the Vietnam War, but he’d never been shot at a protest.
Until last Saturday in Fort Bragg.
Barnes, 74, was holding a sign that said “Fxxx Trump” at the end of the protest, just before noon when he was hit squarely in the forehead, which stung considerably but didn’t break the skin.
“Something hit me in the head and kind of stunned me,” he said.
Barnes, with his kilt, glower, flanked by Fred, the American Bulldog and Doris, the pit-terrier mix has been a regular Trump protester at the Mendocino Indivisible events in 2025.
“I thought it was maybe a paintball gun or something like that, but after thinking about it later, it must have been more like an airsoft gun, right? And then I looked at the people to the south of me on Main Street, and they had kind of a startled look on their faces too. So I assumed that maybe they had been hit by something too. And I asked them, Did they get hit by something? They said, Yeah, somebody threw something out.”
“I looked down the street, but I really couldn’t see where it came from. I thought it came from a little black Honda, but I couldn’t be sure. “
Mendocinocoast.news talked to about a dozen people who were at the protest, most of whom didn’t hear or see anything, nor did they know someone had fired something at the crowd. But everybody contacted in a twenty-foot stretch on the west side of State Route 1 was aware that something had been thrown or fired. A search by those who were hit found no pellets in the road or any evidence of what hit them.
“We were looking for some sort of shrapnel or pellets or whatnot. And all we could find what was basically pebble, gravel, small, small pieces of gravel, which any street has. So we’re not quite sure what, what exactly the projectile was,” protester Richard Hubacek said.
The consensus seems to be that an Airsoft gun or a similar sports gun, was used in the attack. Airsoft guns fire a resin pellet at low speeds are used in shooting sports and designed not to cause injury, if protective gear is worn.
Fort Bragg police are investigating the crime and have promised an increased presence at the protest this coming Saturday. The protesters have been coming out on a weekly basis. More than 1200 appeared two weeks ago at the “No Kings” protest, Locally and nationwide, it was one of the largest protests since the start of the second Gulf War.
While at least three protesters say they were hit and suffered minor injuries, police are also reportedly investigating another report in which someone shot a similar weapon at people who were not involved in any protest. So, until police issue a formal statement, it could have been an act of political violence, or it could have just been jerks driving around shooting an Airsoft gun out the window.
Stay tuned. Mendocinocoast.news expects to get information from the police department or a press release shortly, and we will follow up.
The protest coincided with Fort Bragg’s LGBQT+ Pride parade. That event left State Route 1 and proceeded up to the grounds behind the Larry Spring Museum, located several blocks to the north. Organizer Cynthia Gair had joined the parade and was not at the protest when the attack occurred.
Barnes heard nothing before being hit. He was listening to his earbuds.
“I probably wouldn’t have heard much if it were a machine gun.”
Little River’s Richard Hubacek, 75, heard a popping sound.
“We were out in front of the Guest House on the curb and the whole thing was just about over. All of a sudden i heard a distinct noise. Then it felt like something hit my sign and my wife said ‘something hit me on the wrist.’
A man next to us was hit in the forehead (Barnes) and a woman further down was hit on the chest. Someone said they had seen a flash.”
While the attack wasn’t enough for many not in that one area to even hear, that group got together and decided some sort of projectile had been fired at them. They searched but only found road gravel. Hubacek called 911.
“Nobody needed go go to the hospital, but it was obvious to us that we had been targeted.”
He said six people waited a half hour for the police officer to come and take a statement, as police were involved in traffic control for the Pride March. After telling police the story, the group felt good about the response and saw evidence police were taking the case seriously. They said police have promised an increased presence this Saturday, when the protest will return to the same spot. That was important to the Hubacek’s who wish to continue speaking out, but were concerned that being peppered by pellets might be a sign of future trouble otherwise..
Will new cameras help solve the case?
Police have some sophisticated newer tools that might help crack this case.
The City Council has heard the FBPD has been pleased with the results produced by the Axon and Flock Camera systems it has used in recent years, first worn by officers, then three fixed cameras were set up. When that worked well, the city bought four more fixed cameras, which Police Chief Neil Cervenka told the Fort Bragg City Council in January were about to be set up. The city also has license plate readers on at least eight of its police cars, which can read license plates and search databases.
While law enforcement has become sophisticated in the use of surveillance, tactics have changed drastically to deeseclate. Police using violence created chaos that ended up bolstering the protesters’ causes, such as voting rights and desegregation. The world watched in horror as thugs like Bull Connor ordered his men to fire tear gas, use fire hoses and nightstick marchers who refused to disperse, knocking elderly black people carrying Bibles and dressed in church clothes.
Barnes said he was arrested during the protests of the Vietnam War in Philadelphia.
Protests have been a feature of American life since the Boston Tea Party. The media has exaggerated and understated protests at different times in history. Police response has changed drastically with officers being better trained on how to remain neutral and de-escalate violence since 1969, when repeated violent police raids on the Stonewall Inn led to a riot that is credited as a key moment in the gay rights and later LGBQT+ movement.
Barnes said those were much rowdier days. He was arrested in Philadelphia in the 1960s, later serving in Vietnam. Vietnam vets often became war protesters after service, but rarely were they doing that before the war.
“We were throwing things and fighting and cops were coming in with horses and just trampling people. They had boots and would walk over you. You didn’t want to get in the way of their boots or their horses.
I was just there I wasn’t doing anything when they came charging in. I tried to run and the first thing I knew I was down on the ground and my face is getting rubbed in the street. “
Barnes said he got his draft notice about a month later and served in Vietnam in the 101st Airborne. He said he has never been one run from anything, even service in a war he opposed.
“I didn’t have much choice,” he said.
He said he served in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam. Mendocinocoast.news could not find a record of Barnes in the 101st Airborne’s online database, but that document includes only a portion of those who served in that famed unit.
Historians often say that the worst behavior in U.S police history may have been during the 1968 Democratic convention, where what investigations later called a “police riot” . Police used dump trucks as tanks and fired teargas at protesters who had no escape.
The catastrophe was studied to avoid a repeat.
A key moment that showed police how to handle protests was the failed Albany campaign in 1962, where Martin Luther King’s leadership of the civil rights movement – a broad amalgam of often antagonistic groups – was brought into question.
King found a kindred soul in Albany, George Police Chief Laurie Pritchett, who like King had studied Ghandi and taught his officers they could only prevailed if they “out non-violenced” them.
Throughout the demonstrations, there, his police force was a model of restraint and calm, history shows. Had other police chiefs run their responses like this, some say King might have failed. Instead, most Southern lawmen were intent on imposing violence on non-violent protests and to trumpet support for voting suppression and drastic segregation laws, all of which backfired.
Modern police, especially in Fort Bragg, use tactics like those Prithcett employed. His city suffered no riots or disruptions.
Mendocino Indivisible plans to put out a newsletter this week that will address the incident last week and discuss ongoing safety. Police are also expected to issue a press release.
Many huge protests have been largely forgotten by history, such as those before the second Gulf War. Fort Bragg was filled with protesters in 2004 or 2005 led by the Latino community to protest President George Bush’s immigration crackdown. That crackdown, unlike Trump’s massive deportation effort, focused on both undocumented immigrants AND their employers. Trump has focused entirely on the immigrants, not those who hire them and need them to keep the hospitality and agriculture industries among others
In 1994, thousands of Latino people protested against Proposition 187. Students walked out of schools all over the state. I was a reporter for the Appeal-Democrat in Marysville and walked with the protesters. Our coverage filled the newspaper. Beloved A-D photographer, the late Dave Nielsen, climbed up to the top of the Feather River Bridge to capture a stunning image of the students filling the entire structure. He was mad when I got back to the newsroom because my gigantic self stood out among the Latino high schoolers like “the Great Wall of China”, “ruining his favorite image.
Media coverage is far different. Stories are much shorter and are almost entirely composed of official versions sent out in press releases in 2025. There used to be a team of photographers in small cities like Yuba-Sutter who worked out in the community everyday. Now, on the ground actual reporting is extremely rare by contrast. The Advocate News had a newsroom that included about 10 full and part time workers twenty years ago, but the staff was eliminated and the building sold off. The media now employs few neutral observers, largely comprised of self styled and sponsored “influencers.” News is much, much faster as well as much more official now and involving far less actual reporting.
Barnes will be back this Saturday.
“People like that don’t scare me.”
I got the following follow up from a trusted source:
I was standing next to Wayne. I didn’t get hit, but the people on both sides of me did.
There were at least 5 that were hit, one on the leg, two on the torso,
and one more on the sign. There was clearly a lot of pea
gravel on the sidewalk after the shooting. There was a popping sound
that accompanied it. I was one of the 6 that waited for the police for
about a half hour, and they never came. People left as they needed to.
Finally, the last couple, who called it in, said they’d go over to the
police station and give a report, so I left and went to the Pride event.
I’m glad that the police are taking it seriously, as at the time, it
seemed like they weren’t, but perhaps they were just busy.
From Fort Bragg Police Sgt Jonathan McLaughlin:
In response to your inquiries:
On Saturday officers were dispatched to a report of persons being struck by what can best be described as resin pellets as you stated. They made contact with the reporting party who was able to provide the suspect vehicle description, but could not provide any details on the suspect, or other victims. No statements or threats were reportedly made during the incident. The vehicle was described as a black small car which was dirty in appearance. Officers utilized FLOCK cameras and other means to attempt to locate the suspect however at this time they have not been identified. The department will be conducting extra patrol in the areas of upcoming planned peaceful protests and have been in communication with event organizers who have been asked to report any suspicious activity. No injuries were reported from this incident. Anyone wishing to provide further information in relation to this incident can contact Officer Pacheco at apacheco@fortbraggca.gov or contact us at (707) 964-0200
