UPDATE: Roller-derby member pleads not guilty to stabbing after anti-Sharia protest in Seattle

UPDATE:

SEATTLE -- A local roller-derby member has pleaded not guilty to a second-degree assault charge. Elizabeth MacDonald is accused of stabbing a man after an anti-Sharia law protest last month in Seattle.

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SEATTLE - King County prosecutors charged a member of a local roller-derby league after she allegedly stabbed a man following an anti-Sharia law protest on June 9th.

Elizabeth MacDonald, who competes for the Jet City Rollergirls under the name "Bulldog Nation," was charged with second-degree assault. Prosecutors say she followed the victim down the sidewalk after the protest, shouting that he was a Nazi.



The victim spoke to Q13 News under the condition that he not be identified.

“I tried to deescalate the situation as best I could, and that’s when I was attacked,” he said.

Prosecutors say when the victim tried to film MacDonald with his phone, she pulled out a knife, knocked the phone from his hands and started "pummeling him with her fists."

The man was able to run, but detectives say she followed him and shoved him, causing him to stumble before resuming the attack.

“By the grace of God, I got her to the ground," he said. "I just pinned her there with the knife in her hand as she tried to get it up and stab me with it. That’s when another one came from behind me and started choking me."

The victim was cut in the arm, and the blade glanced his neck.

Seattle police say MacDonald's image was caught on the cellphone video, and that she was identified thanks to Q13 News viewer tips to Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound.

MacDonald was arrested by officers in the North Precinct. Seattle Police say witnesses told them that before the rally, MacDonald spoke of going there to "battle" the people she referred to as Nazis.

A spokesperson for the Jet City Rollergirls told Q13 News that MacDonald hasn't been active for several months, and that the league is reviewing her membership in relation to its code of conduct.

"Jet City Rollergirls does not condone violence in any form, and this is not reflective of our values," a statement reads. "We are a volunteer league that promotes women's athleticism and camaraderie within the sport of roller derby. We will continue to foster a derby community that is inclusive of different backgrounds and beliefs, and one that does not tolerate violence--on or off the track."

MacDonald has no criminal history, but prosecutors requested raising her bail to $75,000 from the original $10,000 because of what they called her "willingness to chase a stab a man in downtown Seattle raises great concerns for the safety of the community, especially someone who disagrees with her political views."