Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson Hit in Face with Pie at Event, Assaults Protester in 'Bloody' Scene
By Nick Miller
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Multiple sources have confirmed that Sacramento Mayor, former NBA star, and UC Berkeley standout Kevin Johnson was hit in the face with a pie tonight at a farm-to-table dinner event — then he tackled and assaulted the protester in a "bloody" brawl.
Sources in attendance have told the
Express that, during the meal, a protester ran at the mayor and threw a store-bought pie in his face.
A different witness said that the pie had whipped cream as a topping.
After this, the protester reportedly said something to Johnson. This prompted the mayor to allegedly tackle the protester and punch him in the face "repeatedly," more than half a dozen times, landing "five to 10" blows.
One witness described it as a "bloody pulp." Other witnesses say that the pie-thrower was hit multiple times in the face and will definitely need stitches, and that there was visible blood.
Ambulances and fire department arrived at the scene.
Sacramento Police released a statement that 32-year-old Sean Thompson was arrested for felony assault of a public official.
A spokesman with the Sacramento Police Department confirmed that there was “some sort of physical altercation” between the suspect and the mayor, which occurred after Johnson was “assaulted” with the pie at around 6:45 p.m. He did not know whether the pie hit the the mayor’s face or head.
“The mayor did strike the suspect after he was assaulted,” spokesman Sgt. Bryce Heinlein told the
Express. He could not confirm whether Johnson tackled Thompson.
Police said that the there was a cut above the suspect’s eye, but that he did not know the size. However, Thompson was transported to a local hospital after the incident, police confirmed.
The spokesperson did not know whether the mayor was injured or not.
Johnson was questioned after the incident. There is no police report yet.
The event was in celebration of Sacramento's Farm-to-Fork week, and was held at the Edible Garden at Johnson's alma mater, Sacramento High School, a charter school under the St. HOPE umbrella. Alice Waters of Chez Panisse has helped with projects at this garden in the past.
There were nearly 200 in attendance at the dinner, including a few dozen high-school students, according to sources. This major event was also attended by some of the city's top restaurateurs.
After the pie attack, sources say Johnson was given a change of clothes and addressed the audience at the podium, apologizing, and receiving applause.
Johnson even brought UFC fighter Urijah Faber, who was in attendance, up to the podium and joked about the assault.
Faber later told a Sacramento TV station that the pie-thrower was "
bloodied up" after the incident.
Protesters occasionally have dogged Johnson on the heels of
sexual-misconduct allegations that resurfaced last year. He was booed at a Hillary Clinton event at Sacramento City College, for instance.
The
Express reached out to the mayor's chief of staff to discuss the incident, but she did not respond. The mayor's chief of staff
told The Sacramento Bee "the mayor was assaulted."
“He is home with his family. ... The whole thing is just shocking," she told the
Bee.
Police released a booking photo of Thompson early Thursday morning. The assailant has cuts, bruises and dried blood on hi face — and a sutures next to his left eye.
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Thompson was at one time an activist with the Occupy Sacramento movement. The pie-thrower actually engaged Mayor Johnson in the past, during city council meetings.
In 2011, Thompson spoke at council and turned his back on Johnson. Tensions were apparently high at this meeting, and three SPD officers moved toward the pie-thrower — but
Johnson waived them off.
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GOOD!!!