STUART — With election day just three days away, a teenager and apparent supporter of former President Donald Trump was arrested here Saturday at a rally in support of Vice President Kamala Harris and charged with punching a 70-year-old woman in the stomach.
A 17-year-old boy — wearing a T-shirt featuring an image of Trump raising his middle finger in front of an American flag background — punched the Harris supporter, knocking her off her feet, according to police and the woman, Stuart resident Kathleen Tomasko.
The 17-year-old was arrested once police, hired by the event organizers, arrived on the scene at the north end of the Roosevelt Bridge on U.S. 1. He was charged with battery on a person 65 years of age or over, according to Stuart Police Department spokesperson Brian Bossio.
“Several people pointed out a male who was walking away from the area as someone who battered or struck a woman. I was able to go get the guy, walk him over to the car and detain him,” Bossio said.
According to witnesses, Bossio said, the 17-year-old was walking away from a separate altercation with a male Harris supporter when he struck Tomasko and knocked her to the ground.
Tomasko said she did nothing to provoke the 17-year-old and she did not hear him say anything to her. In fact, she didn’t even see him coming, she said.
“I’m standing there and people are moving and this kid just turned around and he punched me. I don’t know where he came from,” Tomasko said. “He punched me in the gut and knocked me on the ground, and I fell back and hit the ground. Thank goodness the two ladies were behind me so I didn’t hit my head.”
While Tomasko initially declined to go to the hospital, she said Saturday afternoon that she may need to because of her hip hitting the ground when she fell.
The boy who punched her was one of four that Tomasko saw earlier during the rally.
“There were these four boys that were, you know, Trumpers, and it’s a Harris rally,” Tomasko said. “So they were going back and forth and antagonizing people, and our people were antagonizing them, I guess.”
The rally, called by supporters “Rally on the Bridge,” was part of the nationwide Women’s March, and was specifically in support of Harris and Amendment 4, a ballot measure that would put protections for abortion rights in Florida’s state constitution.
Tomasko said she has been attending political events for decades, but has never experienced anything like this.
“My girlfriend called me from Massachusetts and said ‘Kathy, I can’t believe, we’ve done rallies like this for how many years and nothing like this ever happens,’” Tomasko said.
There were no other arrests or incidents of violence reported at the event, Bossio said.
According to witnesses, Bossio said, the 17-year-old was walking away from a separate altercation with a male Harris supporter when he struck Tomasko and knocked her to the ground.
typical fascist behaviour tbh, get pissed off because some dude owned you and you’re so used to punching drywalls after you lose that you just attack a 70 year old
This speaks to what I think queermunist was saying the other day, about a gender violence time bomb. This kid got embarrassed by a man, then stormed off and immediately found a woman to attack over it.
Latest movie mindset playing out irl
Reminds me of that guy who got yelled at by a random leftist at a protest until he walked over to a news crew and got domed trying to mace them
Was that the fascist that got domed by a Pinkerton (and then crybaby conservatives had a meltdown over how Pinkertons of all people are ‘woke’ now) or are we thinking of different incidents here lol?
That’s the one!
man, how fucked up do you have to be to try and antagonize a bunch of protestors… only to get so mad yourself that you impulsively belt a random old lady? at the age of 17, no less?
cynically speaking, we’re lucky he didn’t show up with a gun and just start blasting.
real tough guy picking on an old lady
I’m sure reactionaries who hate the uncivil and violent democrats will be very upset about this; then again they’re literally wearing trash bags so I don’t even know what’s going on with them at this point.
😔
ooh goodie, are there shitlibs yelling about how “This will be life in Trump’s America!” even though it’s happening under President Biden?
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