Large physical brawls are often messy and chaotic, and it's difficult to sort out who punched whom, who kicked whom, and who started the whole thing to begin with. Sometimes, though, it is crucially important to do so, such as in the case of the fight between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's security detail and unarmed protesters, many of whom were American citizens, last week.
Already, recollections of the brawl have devolved into a game of he-said she-said. The U.S. State Department expressed its "concern to the Turkish government in the strongest possible terms" and on Thursday called in Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kiliçto to meet with U.S. Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon about the incident. Turkey parried by accusing United States personnel of "aggressive and unprofessional actions" and the Turkish Foreign Ministry said it gave the U.S. ambassador to Turkey a "written and verbal protest" of actions that are "contrary to diplomatic rules and practices" and demanded a "full investigation of this diplomatic incident."
Luckily, cameras happened to be rolling and their footage can offer some answers. In an extremely detailed play-by-play, The New York Times has broken down split-seconds of the fight, following actors in the incident including "men in dark suits," "men in khaki," "civilian supporters of Erdogan," and "the president's entourage."
Explore the brawl, and reach your own conclusions, at The New York Times.