A 21-year-old woman from California insists that it's the police who are starting the violence at otherwise peaceful protests — and she has the huge swollen lip to prove it. 

Zeelee Segura was protesting outside the La Mesa Police Department in La Mesa, California on Saturday, along with a crowd that was changing and holding up signs.

But when the police began tear-gassing the group that had assembled, she ran away — and was shot in the face with a rubber bullet when she turned back to check on her friend.






Ouch: Zeelee Segura was protesting outside the La Mesa Police Department in La Mesa, California on Saturday and got hit with a rubber bullet







This is what democracy looks like: She said it was peaceful and the crowd was just holding signs and chanting














Zeelee spoke out about the incident on free tiktok followers, sharing a video in which she shows off her startling injury.

In the clip, which has been viewed 3.6 million times and counting, the young woman jokingly refers to her swollen lip as her 'fillers' — though the horrific injury is no laughing matter. 

'Today, I went to a peaceful protest. Keyword: peaceful,' she says. 'We were all just standing, chanting, hold our signs.

'And then the police were the only ones to get violent.' 

Speaking to BuzzFeed, she explained how the events quickly devolved from peaceful to scary. 

'You could tell the officers were plotting something because at one point most of them were rushed back inside the station and came back with riot gear and gas masks on,' she said.






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'You could tell the officers were plotting something because at one point most of them were rushed back inside the station and came back with riot gear and gas masks on,' she said







Warning: The cops then warned the crowd that they were about to be tear gassed, with an officer even telling them that it would be 'an 8/10 on the pain scale'







Violence: Zeelee was heading away from the scene when she turned around to check on her friend behind her. That's when she made eye contact with an officer who shot her in the face


The cops then warned the crowd that they were about to be tear gassed, with an officer even telling them that it would be 'an 8/10 on the pain scale.' 

They stayed true to their promise and were soon covering the crowd with tear gas. As the chemical weapon hit the crowd, she said, they started running away — which is when the cops followed through with rubber bullets. 

Zeelee was heading away from the scene when she turned around to check on her friend behind her, and in that moment, she got hurt.

'When I turned around, I looked an officer on the roof in the eyes and he shot me,' she said.

'It was weird. You have a quick second where you can see the bullet coming towards you, but it's not enough time to react. 

'I'm glad it was me though, because there was a pregnant woman within feet of me and a child,' she added. 
















'I'm glad it was me though, because there was a pregnant woman within feet of me and a child,' she said







She said: 'I want people to know that protests begin in peace and then have the power to become violent. A lot of the violence begins with the police though'


In her video, she expresses frustration that people feel compelled to be protesting for something as basic as civil rights in the first place.

'We come out here to protest for our rights — which we shouldn't have to do. Why are we protesting for our rights?' she says. 

'And the police are the only ones to get violent. If y'all aren't paying attention yet, y'all need to start paying attention, because we need everyone to f***in' fight this system.'

She hopes that her video beings more attention to the cause, and gives viewers a better understanding of what the protest atmosphere is actually like. 

'I want people to know that protests begin in peace and then have the power to become violent. A lot of the violence begins with the police though, and I am upset the narrative is the other way around,' she told BuzzFeed. 



Read more:

A Woman On TikTok Was Shot In The Face With A Rubber Bullet While Protesting Peacefully

website has swollen lip after PD shot her in the face w/rubber bullet

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