
A man who led an anti-mask protest in Leeds city centre on Saturday afternoon (August 8) was arrested by police, after being wrestled to the ground in a six-minute struggle.
The man attended a protest outside Leeds Civic Hall, before urging others there to march with him.
He was seen by police on The Headrow, where he was carrying a sound system and playing Bob Marley songs.
A viral video on Facebook showed a group of officers wrestling the man to the ground as he attempted to resist arrest. One bystander can be repeatedly heard shouting “police brutality”.
But he was in fact refusing to give his details to police, preventing officers from giving him a Fixed Penalty Notice for organising a large gathering under Covid-19 regulations.
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “Officers attended in Leeds city centre on Saturday afternoon following reports of a large gathering of people attending at anti mask COVID 19 protest outside the Civic Hall.
