In a dramatic turn of events at an anti-Tesla protest, a confrontation between protesters and a pro-Trump counter-demonstrator escalated into a physical altercation with unexpected results. The incident highlighted the growing tension between political ideologies and the real-world consequences when verbal disagreements turn physical. Why is the triangle choke considered an effective self-defense technique in situations like this?
Protest Turns Physical as Ideologies Clash
What started as a demonstration against Tesla quickly escalated when YouTuber Danny Mullen, sporting DOGE merchandise and a Dark MAGA hat, became the target of an aggressive protester. The confrontation began when the protester struck Mullen’s hat off his head, making contact with his face in the process.
Mullen, a jiu-jitsu brown belt with years of martial arts training, quickly assessed the situation before responding with calculated precision. As he later explained, “I’m crawling all the data from my eight years of YouTubing, my martial arts experience trying to decide how to handle this thing artfully.”
Soyboy went splat pic.twitter.com/v4KFKVpjEc
— Danny Mullen (@DannyMullenfts) March 3, 2025
Martial Arts Training Creates Unexpected Outcome
The altercation took a decisive turn when Mullen employed a triangle choke to subdue his attacker, demonstrating the effectiveness of proper martial arts training. This grappling technique involves using the legs to create a figure-four around an opponent’s neck and arm, restricting blood flow without causing permanent damage.
Mullen later described his choice of technique, saying, “The triangle’s been my baby since at least 2008. If you want to, you could completely extinguish somebody’s life with a triangle — but for a situation like this, it’s nice, too, because you can just put the guy on timeout.”
Fake DOGE in San Francisco 😂 pic.twitter.com/xPRSC0Qv92
— Danny Mullen (@DannyMullenfts) March 7, 2025
When Political Trolling Meets Real-World Consequences
This incident isn’t Mullen’s first foray into provocative political content, as he and his group have previously conducted pranks at San Francisco city offices and visited areas near Jacumba Hot Springs known for illegal border crossings. His presence at the Tesla protest wearing politically charged attire was likely intended to provoke a reaction from the demonstrators.
The confrontation serves as a microcosm of the broader political tensions in America, where ideological differences increasingly manifest in physical confrontations. What makes this case notable is not just the political context but the dramatic reversal of fortune when an aggressor encounters someone with unexpected skills.
The incident occurred against the backdrop of nationwide “Tesla Takedown” protests targeting Elon Musk’s companies, highlighting the increasingly personal nature of political activism in the United States. As protests continue across the country, this encounter demonstrates the unpredictable and potentially dangerous outcomes when political differences escalate beyond verbal disagreements.