It has been more than two months since two United States Marines said they were assaulted in Philadelphia by a “mob” just blocks from the controversial We the People Rally, and now a third man has been charged in the attack.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has charged 37-year-old Washington, D.C., resident Joseph Alcoff with aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation, and conspiracy — all felonies — among other charges. He has pleaded not guilty and is currently out on bail.
Alcoff joins codefendants Tom Keenan and Thomas Massey in the case. Both Keenan and Massey were arrested at the end of November and are also out on bail awaiting trial.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of November 17th.
According to court documents, Marines Alejandro Godinez and Luis Torres, who were not in uniform, were approached by a group of 10 to 12 activists on the 100 block of South Front Street in the Old City section of Philadelphia.
Investigators say that the activists, who have been linked to the antifa movement in blog posts, news accounts, and in courtroom testimony, had been counter-protesting at the We the People rally.
At a preliminary hearing for Massey and Keenan in December, the two Marines testified that the activists attacked them, allegedly calling them “nazis” and “white supremacists,” using ethnic slurs against them (both Marines are Hispanic), punching and kicking them repeatedly, and macing them.
