Some Liberal bloggers and tweeters today are suggesting that Jeh Custer, arrested yesterday after hollering at MPs in the House of Commons, punched himself in the face prior to an appearance on CBC Newsworld, er, CBC News Channel last night so that he would look good and beat up.
Well, as a reporter who was sitting in front of the demonstrators when they started and who followed the arrested gang into the basement interrogation room, let me report this:
I was the only reporter standing in the basement of the Centre Block when Custer and the rest were frogmarched into an interrogation room with their hands handcuffed behind their backs. I saw Custer myself with a line of blood running out of his mouth while he was in handcuffs.
So far as I know there are no pictures of Custer bleeding in the House of Commons because camera operators may not use cameras in the House of Commons except in the foyer and in the Hall of Honour.
Now, is it possible that, in the melee as 120 people were being physically thrown out of the House of Commons, that Custer punched himself in the face to produce that blood. I guess he could have but he was bleeding from the mouth and it seems to me you'd really have to whack yourself to get your mouth bleeding. Did I see him getting punched by security personnel, as he says? No. But, as I said, I did seem in handcuffs with two RCMP officers on either side of him with a line of blood coming out of his mouth.
Well then why didn't he wipe off the blood before the TV interview? Beats me. But it sure made a visual impact and, given the level of organization of this whole event, it seemed this group was pretty media savvy and used Custer's accident to best effect. If you want to accuse of him of "enhancing" his injuries, go ahead. But shouldn't the more important question be how did he get them in the first place?
Finally: The other man that was on the panel with Custer (don't know his name) was also frogmarched by me and it was clear that he had been tossed about violently enough that his shirt had been ripped vertically on the back from the neckline to his waist.
UPDATE Just to clarify a few things, partly in response to many of your comments below: 1. I make no claims as to how Custer suffered his injury. I did not see him getting injured. He says he was beaten by guards. Seems to me that would be a useful line of inquiry and a more important one than whether or not he gussied up his injuries for a TV interview. 2. I suppose Custer could have punked us all by carrying a blood packet in his mouth or something but I've only been a political reporter in Ottawa since 2005 and will need at least a few more years of seasoning until I'm that cynical. 3. A Parliamentary Press Gallery member who is a pretty sharp reporter saw lots of blood on the hallway floor outside the Speakers Gallery and blood on the stairs leading down to the basement where I was waiting. 4. Many of you seem to have some legitimate questions about Custer's behaviour after he left Parliament Hill. Knock yourself out. I'd suggest again, though, that the more important question is how blood ended up all over the floor of a building on Parliament.
