Livestreaming protests provides a raw, unfiltered and possibly warped viewpoint
As people all over the world livestream protests in the wake of George Floyd's death, Jon Ziegler remembers when he captured a tragic moment that was seen around the globe.
On Aug. 12, 2017, Ziegler grabbed his camera rig and headed to a counterprotest at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The night before, neo-Nazis and alt-right activists had descended on the University of Virginia, chanting racist slogans and carrying tiki torches. Ziegler, an independent journalist who goes by the name Reb Z, wasn't new to filming protests. He'd already gained a niche following for livestreaming demonstrations at the Dakota Access Pipeline and in Ferguson, Missouri. Despite the experience, Ziegler couldn't have imagined what was about to erupt.
While protesters gathered in the city's downtown district, an avowed white supremacist named James Fields drove his Dodge Challenger around the area. Then, he rammed his car into the crowd. "We need the paramedics right now! People are badly hurt!" Ziegler says frantically in the video. "Somebody might be dead."
The rampage killed Heather Heyer and injured dozens of other protesters. Fields was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Ziegler's video ricocheted around the world, capturing what had been one of the ugliest moments in America's growing social division. "That clip was able to go viral around the world in less than 10 minutes," Ziegler told CNET in an interview this week. "People saw it before the alt-right was able to start giving their false counternarrative."
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