A Florida Democrat has been arrested after allegedly attacking a man identified as a disabled veteran during a “No Kings” protest on Saturday.
Brian Stewart, chairman of the Hernando County Democratic Party, was arrested, according to WFLA-TV.
An affidavit released by the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said that a deputy was called to Spring Hill at about 10:31 a.m. Saturday.
A man said that after an argument with Stewart, the Democratic Party operative “struck him against his will.”
The victim “reported pain and had a visible lump on his head, which was consistent with being struck,” the office said.
“Based on the victim’s statement, the witness statement, the video evidence, the visible injury to Thomas Michta, and the defendant’s own admissions, I developed probable cause to believe that the defendant intentionally struck and touched Thomas Michta against his will and caused bodily harm,” the affidavit stated.
The incident kicked off when Stewart intervened as counter-protestors followed a public official.
Stewart reportedly played the siren on his megaphone, even as a counter-protester complained the noise would damage his hearing.
The man poured a liquid into the megaphone. Stewart then allegedly struck him with the megaphone.
Stewart was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge.
The Hernando County Democratic Party claimed in a statement that Stewart was arrested after “responding to a provocation from a local agitator who threw a drink on him and yelled obscenities at community members during a protest.”
Republicans offered a different perspective.
“Brian Stewart was arrested for violently attacking a disabled veteran at the far-left ‘No Kings’ rally yesterday,” the Florida Republican Part posted on X.
“Radical liberals are spiraling out of control!” the post said, noting that other leading Florida Democrats had not condemned the incident.
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