911 calls reveal events at alleged W. Asheville Library assault; peace group speaks out

ASHEVILLE - Asheville police recently released transcripts of 911 calls received during an alleged assault at the West Asheville Library.

While police continue to investigate, a local Jewish group is questioning a narrative conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism and is calling attention to positive experiences while organizing around solidarity with Palestine.

On June 29, Asheville Police Department officers responded to reports of a fight in one of West Asheville Library's meeting rooms during a seminar called “Strategic Lessons from the Palestinian Resistance,” which was part of the fifth annual Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair. APD received three 911 calls during the incident, according to spokesperson Rick Rice.

Tensions arose when an attendee, Monica Buckley, 48, was livestreaming the speech. This allegedly escalated to punching and kicking, as previously reported. In a video circulating on social media, an attendee calls attention to the livestream and another person responds, "They're Zionists. We've been trying to figure out how to deal with them."

One 911 caller was an alleged victim, another was watching the livestream, and the last one called from the library, according to transcripts obtained by the Citizen Times.

What do the 911 calls describe?

“I am at the West Asheville Library, and we have an event that is breaking out into a fight," one caller told 911 dispatch. “I’m not sure exactly what it’s about, but if you could send some people over real quick.”

A caller at the library — which Buncombe County previously said was a librarian — said: “We’ve got the people starting to spill out the side doors" and physically fighting.

The operator asked how many people there were, and the caller responded, “A lot. We had a big event happening in our meeting room today. It’s a big group of people.”

The caller said there at least 10 or 15 people at the front door, but “I’m not sure how many people are actually fighting,” when asked to estimate the number of people. The caller said that some people were trying to calm others down.

The caller said there were no weapons that they could see, “but I am not in the room with the fight, so I can’t see very well.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t hear you over all of the shouting,” the 911 caller told dispatch after some back and forth.

“I’ve got an officer in route there right now,” the operator said.

Another caller told dispatch, “I need emergency. I’ve been assaulted at the library, West Asheville Library.”

“They’re pushing me out. There’s an old man on the ground they attacked, 80 years old. I need help right now. Please.”

After asking for a contact number and the location of the incident, the operator said, "Describe what’s going on. … So, you said someone choked you?

“Yes, someone choked me; a lot of people attacked me," the caller responded. "They attacked my friends. I’m with the police … they’re asking me questions. There’s an officer calling here. He’s telling me to hang up.”

A third caller contacted 911 after watching the livestream.

“There are three people getting attacked at the Asheville Public Library right now,” the caller said. “I saw the video streaming live on Instagram, and they started being attacked.”

“Did you see anything else ma’am?” the operator asked.

“I can try to log back on right now," the caller responded. "Let me see if there’s anything there still. No, the screen went black … You need to get to the West Asheville Library to make sure they’re OK."

An APD incident report for the alleged assault lists three different crimes: simple assault, damage to personal property and resist, delay, obstruct an officer.

Police have charged one person, Taylor Danielle Zarkin, 35, of Alexander, with two counts of resisting a public officer for allegedly obstructing police investigations after the initial incident, Rice previously said.

“After speaking with detectives, there's no updates to provide at this time regarding the investigation, which continues," Rice told the Citizen Times July 9.

Police are reviewing surveillance footage to identify nine persons of interest in the assault, as previously reported by the Citizen Times.

Positive solidarity: A way forward

Matthew Maizels, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace in Asheville, pointed out that some of the organizers of the anarchist bookfair and many attendees of the different events, like himself, are Jewish and disagree with the characterization of the alleged assault as being antisemitic.

"We reject as false any claim that these events are antisemitic," a news release from JVP said. "While we, as Jews ourselves, are naturally concerned about our safety in this community, we wholeheartedly reject any conflation of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism."

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Maizels said he believes that treating the two as one in the same creates further division and makes religious minorities in this country more vulnerable by distracting from "real antisemitism in our communities."

Nationally, antisemitic incidents in 2023 soared to a total of 8,873 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism across the country – a 140% increase from 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League. In North Carolina, there were 151 antisemitic incidents reported in 2023, marking a 287% increase from the 39 incidents in 2022.

Maizels said he believes it's important for people of all religions to attend events and gather in discussion about the Israel-Hamas war to prevent further harm.

"I think there's an opportunity here for Jews and Muslims to join together and stand up for peace and justice and actually help each other out in combating Islamophobia and combating antisemitism together," Maizels said.

But, he conceded, he's concerned that these recent events will "contribute to people retreating into their own political silos."

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Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: West Asheville Library alleged assault 911 police calls released