SALT LAKE CITY — Jason Blair tried to break up a severe brawl at Disneyland and footage of the fight went viral this week. Now he’s recounting his story to The Los Angeles Times.
Blair visited Disneyland’s Toontown last Saturday with his wife and two daughters not expecting to see a fight break out. But alas, multiple men and women started fighting outside of Goofy’s Playhouse, all of which was captured on camera.
Blair decided to jump into the fight to break it up after he saw a man punch a woman in the brawl, which was reportedly between family members, according to The Los Angeles Times.
- “I told him, ‘Get your stuff and get out of here,’” Blair said. “He was ranting and raving, just going off. But hitting a woman is not right, no matter what happened.”
Context: As I reported for the Deseret News, a video of the Disneyland fight went viral across the internet. It contains graphic violence of men hitting men, men hitting women, women screaming at men, and children watching from the sidelines. Park officials eventually break up the fight.
What happened next: In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Disneyland escorted those involved out of the park, according to KTLA.
Liz Jaeger, a spokeswoman for the Disneyland Resort, said fighting isn’t tolerated at the park.
- “Any type of violence is inexcusable and will not be tolerated,” Jaeger said. “Disneyland Resort security responded appropriately within minutes and immediately called the Anaheim Police Department for assistance.”
Michael Downing, a retired deputy chief with the Los Angeles Police Department’s counterterrorism unit, told Los Angeles Times that employees acted right to call for backup.
- “It would be different if it’s a one-on-one fight, but to have five people duking it out, it’s probably going to exacerbate the situation,” he said. “This was a very nasty family dispute, so I think she did everything the right way.”