UFC star Jon Jones on confronting would-be vandals in his community
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones speaks to 'Fox & Friends' after collecting spray paint from would-be vandals in New Mexico during the George Floyd unrest.
UFC star Jon Jones is calling on American citizens to step up for their communities and against bad actors during the George Floyd protests.
Appearing on "Fox & Friends" with host Ainsley Earhardt, Jones said Tuesday that he had initially decided to attend one of Sunday's peaceful protests in Albuquerque, N.M., after a teammate called him. Jones explained that his friend had told him there were mainly Hispanics and Caucasians at the protest and that the two of them should head down there to represent the African-American community.
UFC STAR JON JONES CONFRONTS WOULD-BE VANDALS IN NEW MEXICO, TAKES AWAY SPRAY CANS
But, according to Jones, the peaceful protest devolved into chaos as the sun set.
"And, when I get down there, the peaceful protest is over and a lot of people are just hanging around still and the vandalism started right away," he recalled. "And, I just noticed the protesters that were leaving and going home – that no one was standing [up] for anything. No one was speaking out. Everyone was just kind of scared of like these hooligans taking over the town."
The longtime light-heavyweight champion had "never seen anything like it."
There was no police presence and residents were "just doing whatever they wanted to places I liked to hang out at," he remembered.
Jones told Earhardt that the longer he waited and said nothing, the more he had felt like a "coward."
"So, I just started to talk to people and just say, ‘Hey, it’s not the way, man. It’s not the way.’ [I] just kind of realized how much danger I was in by approaching all of these masked people asking them not to do certain things," he remembered. "Finally, I had enough and I just started taking things from people, and a teammate ended up recording the situation and I guess it went viral."
Protesters holding signs block a street Sunday, May 31, 2020, in downtown Albuquerque, N.M. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal via AP)
Jones posted a video of himself confronting two people who appeared to be holding spray cans. He demanded that one of those people give up the spray can and he walked over to another person who immediately gave their spray can to the fighter.
"At the end of the day, you know, these are our relatives that are out there acting like terrorists," he continued.
Jones pointed out that in gathering together with his friends to be a "little local nonviolent police force," they made sure their hometown was protected.
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"At the end of the day, [there are] a lot more of us citizens than there are police and the question is what type of person are you going to be? What type of man are you going to be in this historic time when your country needs you, your community needs you…to step up, to say the right thing, to be courageous when you see people doing wrong?" he concluded. "I'm not asking you guys as citizens to put yourselves in danger, but I am asking to use your voices, use your eyes, and be smart [during] this time. Do what you can."