Breast cancer patient punched and insulted by activists protesting clinic’s mask policy
A breast cancer patient says she was physically assaulted and verbally abused outside a treatment centre in West Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Far-right activists who were angry over the clinic’s mandatory mask policy gathered outside the Cedars-Sinai Breast Health Services building on Thursday and harassed patients and doctors, reports Vice.
Kate Burns, a patient at the centre, approached the group and told them to leave. The exchange was caught on camera by a local videographer and posted on Twitter.
A protester asked her why she was so angry, and Ms Burns replied: “Because I’ve just gone through f****** breast cancer,” Burns said. “And you m*****f****** are here.”
“That has nothing to do with you,” one man replied. “We’re trying to help.”
“It has everything to do with me and my community,” Ms Burns said. “Do you know anything about chemotherapy? Do you know what happens to the immune system?”
Protesters asked her if she was familiar with the Civil Rights Act. “Get on the right side of history,” one man told her. “You’ve got a lot of anger you need to release. It’s a very dangerous emotion.”
The situation escalated as more apparent far-right, anti-maskers arrived, and a confrontation between them and a group of anti-fascists developed.
One woman shoved Ms Burns, and punched her several times. Ms Burns said that the woman hit her in the chest and struck her scars.
Thursday was the second time that anti-maskers had targeted that particular breast cancer clinic over its mask policy. The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center did not immediately respond to VICE News’ request for comment.
