ANDY NGO REPORTS: San Diego Antifa member admits to beating child and woman at riot

On Jan. 12, Jesse Merel Cannon admitted to a San Diego County court to conspiring to riot, and two counts of assault against a woman and minor boy with use of a dangerous or deadly weapon. He committed these three felonies while out on bail for a previous felony assault with a deadly weapon charge, to which he also pleaded guilty. The 33-year-old is now the eighth Antifa member in a row out of 11 to be convicted in San Diego.

San Diego County prosecutors said that Cannon, then 30, was dressed in all-black and wearing a gray hat with a mesh veil concealing his face during the Pacific Beach riot against Trump supporters on Jan. 9, 2021.

Jesse Merel Cannon was identified by prosecutors as the man in the grey hat

According to prosecutors, Cannon pointed out a middle-aged woman and her companions to be attacked by raising his arm and yelling out, “Proud Boy killa!” Cannon initiated that attack, then threw a wooden lawn chair and projectiles, while the mob attacked multiple victims, the indictment charged. Cannon was originally indicted on eight felonies.

Jesse Merel Cannon’s victims

Cannon’s victims include a teen boy named as “S.G.” and a middle-aged woman identified only as “M.A.” in court documents.

Teen victim “S.G.” testified during the grand jury hearing that he was in high school at the time and got permission from his mother to attend the “patriot” themed rally.

“I saw a pretty large group of people wearing mostly all black, and there were a lot of Antifa flags,” the teen testified. “They were like yelling stuff at us, like calling us fascists and obviously in a more aggressive way, using profanity and stuff.” He said he and his teenage friends faced a group of 40 or 50 people wearing all-black and tactical gear.

“S.G.” and his friends were sprayed in the face with a chemical believed to be bear spray. The boy said he was pushed and tackled to the ground by Antifa members and repeatedly hit. He said he yelled for help, and a man came and pushed the attackers off. The boy said he tried to escape, but was dragged back down again. The grand jury saw evidence videos of this prolonged attack.

“S.G.” sought medical help and was diagnosed with a concussion. His medical records were entered as evidence.

The moment when the teens were about to be assaulted by Antifa on Pacific Beach, San Diego

Teen victim ‘S.G.’ after being bear sprayed in the Antifa attack

As part of his guilty plea, Cannon also admitted felonious assault on “M.A.,” a woman. The woman told the grand jury she thought she was going to a “flag wave” peaceful event but was quickly surrounded by Antifa.

The woman cried when she watched evidence video of the attack on her, which was played for the grand jury. She described getting maced and being hit by a chair as she desperately tried to run away but fell to the ground.

Female victim ‘M.A.’ was attacked to the ground during the Antifa riot

“M.A.” described tucking herself into a ball and protecting her head while screaming for help.

She said there were police nearby who did not intervene. Recalling a male companion who helped her eventually escape, she said: “I remember him asking the cops, ‘Are you going to do something?’ And the cops said that we could file a police report later on.”

After being injured in the riot, the woman testified that she and her family were “doxed.” She said an Antifa Twitter account posted her personal information online, accused her of being a “Nazi” and that she lost her job. She wept during her testimony before the grand jury.

Jesse Merel Cannon’s history of violence

In the plea deal, Cannon admitted that his assaults on the teen boy and the woman were “likely to produce great bodily injury.” He also admitted to the allegation that his new felonies were committed while he was out-on-bail for a prior felony charge. If a sentencing enhancement is applied to all four felonies that he pleaded guilty to, that could add two more years additional prison time for each charge.

As previously reported, a prosecutor has claimed that Cannon had or has an Antifa girlfriend in the San Diego Public Defender’s office who allegedly had access to information about victims and witnesses in this high-profile case.

Violent Antifa member Jesse Merel Cannon and his girlfriend Leah Madbak, who works in the San Diego Public Defender’s office