Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) will press charges against the woman who allegedly splashed a beverage on him earlier June.
The June 1st incident occurred following a town hall held by Gaetz at the Brew Ha Ha restaurant in Pensacola, Florida. A video clip shared to social media shows Amanda Kondrat’yev, a Democrat who once challenged the Florida Republican for his congressional seat, allegedly tossing a drink at his chest.
According to the Pensacola News Journal, Kondrat’yev was taken into police custody after the incident and was later released on a $1,000 bond.
“I had a circumstance just a few weeks ago where someone threw a drink at me leaving a town hall meeting. I am going to press charges,” Gaetz said during a Wednesday appearance on the Fox News Channel’s Hannity.
“If there are are no consequences laid out then maybe it’s me getting hit with a drink one time, but what if it’s a member of my staff and what if instead of a drink it’s acid or urine?” the Trump ally continued. “I think it’s really important to send a message that we as conservatives have a right to our views — just like anybody else.”
Kondrat’yev not only has a history of targeting Gaetz, but is known in Pensacola for filing a lawsuit against Pensacola in a bid to have the city remove a Bayview Park cross. Pensacola News Journal previously reports the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center and the Freedom From Religion Foundation sued the city on behalf of Kondra’yev and several other Pensacola residents.
Gaetz offered to debate Kondrat’yev about the cross — an offer she accepted, but the planned face-off fell through.
The incident came after a wave of “milkshake” assaults on pro-Brexit candidates, including Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, during the E.U. elections in Britain.