A Florida congressman was allegedly attacked overnight Friday by a Sundance party-crasher who said “We are going to deport you and your kind,” before punching the lawmaker in the face.
The alleged assailant then shoved a woman at the party, according to a probable cause statement filed in court, before he was restrained and police arrested him.
The altercation occurred at a private party at High West Saloon in downtown Park City. The 28-year-old alleged assailant was denied access to the party and, according to the police statement, jumped a fence to get into the event.
He approached U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, an Afro-Latino Democrat from Florida, and his friend and engaged in “weird” conversation referencing race, the probable cause statement alleges. The man then allegedly wrapped his arms around the congressman and his friend, pulled them in close and said, “We are going to deport you and your kind.” Frost pushed the man away and the man allegedly yelled a racial slur and punched Frost in the face and ran into the crowd, the court record states.
A second alleged victim told police the man approached her and a friend at the bar and began making racially charged statements, grabbed her shoulders with both hands and pushed her against the bar and said, “You are the kind we are going to deport,” according to the probable cause statement.
As he attempted to flee, the record states, he was grabbed by another partygoer and restrained until police arrived.
The suspect, police said, had a Sundance pass that was not issued in his name.
He was arrested and booked into the Summit County jail on suspicion of assaulting a government official, assault and aggravated burglary. All of the alleged crimes are subject to a hate crime enhancement, due to the allegations of racial motivation, according to a statement from the Park City Police Department.
Prosecutors will ultimately determine the charges, if any, the man could face.
Frost posted on X, Saturday that he had been assaulted at the Utah film festival by a man “who told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face.”
“He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off,” Frost posted. “The individual has been arrested and I am okay.”
This story is breaking an may be updated.