As most of you know by now, Scott Olsen, 24, who has survived two tours in Iraq, was seriously injured on Wednesday after the city of Oakland turned on Occupy Oakland protesters. Specifically, Olsen was allegedly stuck in the head by a tear gas canister or flashbang grenade fired by Oakland police. (For their part, Oakland police say they did not use flash bang grenades during the assault.)

RightThisMinute has an interview with Olsen's uncle, George Nygaard, who discussed Olsen's ordeal. “Even when people were going to rescue Scott on the ground they fire and exploding tear gas grenades right amongst them," Nygaard said. (Evidence of this can be seen in this harrowing video.)

Nygaard claimed that Olsen was at Tuesday night's protest to serve as a peacemaker between the protestors and the law enforcement. He goes on to say that Olsen was attacked for his first amendment rights, something that Olsen and other soldiers were (allegedly, but probably not) fighting for in the middle east.

“He’s somebody who went over there and fought for our freedom comes back and is viciously attacked for exercising his first amendment rights," he said.

A member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Olsen remains hospitalized with a fractured skull. A source inside the hospital with Olsen tells SFist that "he's doing the same."

Olsen first joined the Marine Corps at 17.