Three Asheville residents, including an elderly man, told a News 13 crew they were assaulted during a speaking session at "Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair" on Saturday, June 29.
David Moritz, Monica Buckley and Bob Campbell went to the West Asheville Library to attend an event called "Strategic Lessons from the Palestinian Resistance."
They estimated there were between 60 and 80 people there.
Moritz and Buckley, both of whom are Jewish, said they wished to be there to learn about what was being taught in their community.
Buckley, who live-streamed the session, said she did so because she feared for her safety.
"I just thought it would be safer to livestream what was happening," Buckley said.
The three say there they were in the room for about half an hour before someone announced that the session was being live-streamed.
This entire exchange can be heard on video provided by Buckley.
The speaker then asked if it was a positivity stream.
"That's when they said, 'No, they're Zionists livestreaming,' and then everyone turned and looked at us," Buckley recalled, "and that's when the conversation started about how to deal with us."
Moments later, Buckley said someone grabbed the phone out of her hand.
"I was just sitting there recording the people who were surrounding us, and a woman grabbed the phone and started running towards the door," she explained.
Buckley said she tried to get her phone back and that's when the violence began, according to the group.
"I jumped on her to get my phone back. There was a swarm of dozens of people that attacked me, and then and Bob and David came to try to help me and then they were swarmed and attacked also," Buckley said. "They were hitting me, punching me, punching my wrists, stomping on my ankles. Somebody choked me with something."
Bob Campbell, a Navy veteran battling cancer, stepped in to help.
“I went behind her and then he grabbed me from the back and pushed me down on the floor so that’s when I told him, I said, 'You know I got cancer and I’m 80, you don’t have to do much, but he wouldn’t stop',” he said.
"Bob and I both got up to defend her, but it was just such a mob of people, they just started punching me," Moritz said. "I had bruises on my head, I was fighting back, I kicked some people."
Buckley, Moritz and Campbell said they were assaulted by around two dozen people.
"We didn't want to provoke anything," Moritz said. "We were there just to listen."
Eventually police showed up according to Moritz.
"The only reason the police knew what was happening was because of the livestream that I had on -- and people who were watching the live stream are who called the police," Buckley said. "The library didn't call the police, not a single person there called the police while we were being beaten by a mob."
According to a Monday phone call with a spokesperson for Buncombe County government, a librarian did call 911.
Moritz said further violence occurred in the lobby of the library and he said he was shown that surveillance video by police officers.
A report has been filed to Asheville Police Department, according to Moritz.
“This is a place where prosecuting this type of violence can actually start, and I think... Asheville should be known for that as opposed for being a place where terrorism and antisemitism is running rampant,” Buckley said.
News 13 contacted representatives with Buncombe County and the Asheville Police Department on Saturday and Sunday; they have not responded.