A group of Black Lives Matter protesters who carried a counter demonstrator to safety during a weekend rally in London say they were trying to protect young black protesters from agitators.
Patrick Hutchinson, who was pictured in the now-famous photograph carrying a counter-protester over his shoulder to safety, was among a group of personal trainers and security workers who said they decided to attend the rally to help keep the peace.
"His life was under threat, so I just went under, scooped him up, put him on my shoulders and started marching towards the police with him," Mr Hutchinson told Channel 4.
"If the other three police officers who were standing around when George Floyd was murdered had thought about intervening and stopping their colleague from doing what he was doing - like what we did - George Floyd would be alive today still."
Saturday saw hundreds of far-right protesters clash with Black Lives Matter demonstrators, resulting in small but violent skirmishes between the two groups.
London's Metropolitan Police said more than 100 people were arrested during the demonstration, with 15 people needing treatment from ambulance services and six police officers sustaining minor injuries.
Pierre Noah, who travelled to the protest in Mr Hutchinson's group, said by protecting the counter-protester, they were protecting young people from their own community more than the counter-protester.
"It would've turned out really bad, someone's life would've been taken, and you know what would've happened," Mr Noah said.
"Straight away, it would have been 'Black guy, black boys have killed somebody and they've killed a white man' - it was just going to be worse."
The far-right group said they were trying to defend historic monuments from the Black Lives Matter protesters, after a series of statues memorialising British colonisers and slave traders were torn down last week.
Also trying to restore calm as the two groups of protesters clashed was Jamaine Facey, who said he and his friends felt like they had to step in to protect the younger protesters.
"For me, I wasn't protecting him. I was protecting our kids. I was protecting their future," he said.
Reuters photojournalist Dylan Martinez, who took the photograph, said he heard Mr Hutchinson yell out "that's not what we do" before carrying the counter-protester to safety.
“I saw a skirmish and someone falling to the ground,” Mr Martinez recalled of the moment in Central London.
Protesters outside the Royal Festival Hall in central London. Source: Press Association
“The crowd parted right in front of me. I was in the right place at right time, and incredibly lucky from that point of view. He came towards me, walking briskly.”
With additional reporting from Reuters.
