Rand Paul Volunteer, Tim Proffitt, Who Stomped On MoveOn.Org. Activist, Is Summoned To Court.
Rand Paul volunteer being served with criminal summons after stomping incident
By Bill Estep and Josh Kegley
A supporter of Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul is being served with a criminal summons after he was seen on video stepping on a liberal activist’s head at a rally Monday night, according to Lexington police.
Tim Profitt, a volunteer with Paul's campaign, told the Herald-Leader he was concerned the woman was trying to attack Paul and acted only to subdue her.
“The way she went after him it looked like something bad was getting ready to happen,” said Profitt, 53, of Bourbon County.
He said he put his foot on her shoulder, not her head. "I said, ‘Now you stay down,’ and called for police. The only thing we were trying to do was subdue her.”
He criticized police for not taking action after other supporters warned authorities about the activist.
Profitt will be ordered to appear before a Fayette County District Court Judge, police said.
Paul has cut ties with Profitt. Paul had been criticized earlier in the day for not denouncing the attack strongly enough, but a later statement said Paul is “extremely disappointed in, and condemns” the actions of what it called a supporter.
“The Paul campaign has disassociated itself from the volunteer who took part in this incident, and once again urges all activists -- on both sides -- to remember that their political passions should never manifest themselves in physical altercations of any kind,” the statement said.
The incident happened as Paul arrived at the Kentucky Educational Television studio on Cooper Drive in Lexington for a debate with Attorney General Jack Conway, his Democratic opponent.
Lauren Lizabeth Valle, 23, an activist with MoveOn.org, tried to get close to Paul to give him a fake award portraying him as a tool of big business, as the group has done elsewhere.
However, at least two men in the crowd grabbed her and pushed her down. Profitt put his foot on her shoulder and shoved down forcefully on her neck and head.
Police are investigating the incident as a fourth-degree assault. Anyone with information on the identities of others involved in the incident is asked to call Lexington police at (859) 258-3600.
A spokeswoman for MoveOn said Valle went to a hospital on Monday night to be checked and has a concussion. She was not admitted.
The stomping was one of two reported to Lexington police outside the debate. Paul supporter Marsha Foster, 49, reported that earlier in the night a person had intentionally stomped on her broken foot, causing “minor visible injuries,” according to a police report. Foster could not be reached immediately for comment.
Valle was trying to get her picture taken with Paul and present him an employee of the month award from RepubliCorp, a fictional name MoveOn is using around the country to illustrate its argument that right wing groups are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the election to help the GOP take back Congress, said Eliza Brinkmeyer, a spokeswoman for MoveOn,
Valle told police the men “intentionally forced her to the ground and began kicking her in the head,” according to a police report. She reported pain in her left temple.
Police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts said Tuesday that detectives were reviewing videos of the altercation.
Paul’s campaign released a statement calling the altercation “incredibly unfortunate.”
“Violence of any kind has no place in our civil discourse and we urge supporters on all sides to be civil to one another as tensions rise heading toward this very important election,” the statement said.
On Fox News Tuesday morning, Paul said there was a lot of passion on both sides when he showed up for the debate. Scores of Paul and Conway supporters had gathered in the parking lot of KET.
“It really was something where you walk into a daze of lights flashing, people yelling and screaming, bumping up. There was a bit of a crowd control problem,” Paul said on Fox. “I don’t want anybody, though, to be involved in things that aren’t civil. I think this should always be about the issues. It is an unusual situation to have so many people, so passionate on both sides, jockeying back and forth and it wasn’t something that I liked or anybody liked about that situation.”
Justin Ruben, executive director of MoveOn.org, said in a statement that he was “appalled” by the incident.
“This kind of violence has no place in American society, much less at a peaceful political rally,” Ruben said. “Our first concern is obviously Lauren’s health and well being. She is recovering, and we will release more details as we have them. We are concerned that no arrests have yet been made, and we hope those responsible will be brought to justice quickly, and that Rand Paul will join us in condemning this horrible act.”
MoveOn.org has bought television advertisements in support of Conway.
A spokesman for Conway said Valle has not worked with his campaign in any capacity and that there was no coordination between MoveOn and the campaign for the rally outside the debate.
“I was shocked to see video footage of a Rand Paul supporter stomping the head of a woman outside the debate last night,” Conway said in a statement issued by John Collins, a campaign spokesman.
“We can disagree on issues, and I don’t know what preceded the incident, but physical violence by a man against a woman must never be tolerated,” Conway said. “It is my hope that steps have been taken to ensure this kind of thuggish behavior never happens again in this campaign.”
On Tuesday, Profitt confirmed he is the man shown putting his foot on Valle, but he said he did not stomp or kick her, and did not intend to hurt her.
Profitt said Valle moved in an "aggressive" manner as she tried to get close to Paul, but Paul supporters held her back and called for police.
Then, Profitt said, Valle got loose and ran toward Paul a second time. Paul supporters again held her, but she went down on her own to make it look like she was being pushed down, Profitt said.
When she was on the ground, Profitt put his foot on her. "I said, 'Now you stay down,'" he said.
Profitt said he and others were only trying to subdue Valle because of the potential threat to Paul.
Profitt apologized, but also blamed MoveOn for forcing the incident.
"It was actually like a self-defense thing, the way I see it," said Profitt, who is retired.
He also said Paul supporters told police Valle might be up to something before the incident and asked officers to escort Paul through the crowd, but they said that wasn't their job.
Sherelle Roberts, spokeswoman for Lexington police, said police couldn't have interfered because the woman did not do anything illegal.
"It's not illegal to take a picture with somebody," Roberts said.
Valle told the Huffington Post that supporters of Paul started grabbing for her and she ran to get away from them.
"One or two people twisted my arms behind my back and took me down. It was about two-to-three seconds after that that another person stomped on my head," Valle said on the Web site.
In an interview on Fox News Tuesday, Paul described a chaotic situation when he arrived.
"It really was something where you walk into a daze of lights flashing, people yelling and screaming, bumping up. There was a bit of a crowd control problem," Paul said. "I don't want anybody, though, to be involved in things that aren't civil. I think this should always be about the issues. It is an unusual situation to have so many people, so passionate on both sides, jockeying back and forth and it wasn't something that I liked or anybody liked about that situation."
Hogue, the MoveOn.org spokeswoman, said Valle suffered a concussion and sprained arm and shoulder and spent the night in a Lexington hospital.
She was staying in Kentucky Tuesday with a MoveOn member, who Hogue declined to identify.
"She's hurting" and may not return to the campaign trail, Hogue said.
Hogue scoffed at the notion that Paul's supporters needed to protect him from Valle.
Valle wasn't the only one outside KET who faced hostility from Paul supporters, Michael J. Grossman, a corporate official in Lexington, said in an e-mail to the Herald-Leader.
A Paul supporter also tried to "take me down" just after Valle was attacked, then berated him, said Grossman, who had a Conway sign.
"It was a relatively calm political event until the Rand Paul people simply went nuts when their candidate arrived," Grossman said. "By and large they appeared to be a very hostile group of people who were looking for trouble, and I guess they got it."
MoveOn has bought television ads supporting Conway. However, the organization does not coordinate its activities with candidates, Hogue said.
The alleged assault touched off a furor of statements and commentary from the left and right.
Internet sites across the political and media spectrum rushed to post video footage of the incident, and Democrats denounced the treatment of Valle.
"What I saw last night was not politics, it was an angry mob," state Sen. Denise Harper Angel, a Louisville Democrat, said on a conference call arranged by the Kentucky Democratic Party.
On the right, conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh called Valle a "professional agitator" and suggested she would have fared worse if she'd rushed at President Obama.
In May, Valle and six other Greenpeace volunteers were arrested during a protest in Louisiana of offshore oil drilling following the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the organization announced.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/26/1495641_p2/moveonorg-activist-stomped-in.html#ixzz13Vx2Ncxr
Editor's comment: We have to STOP the insanity on ALL sides!
By Bill Estep and Josh Kegley
A supporter of Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul is being served with a criminal summons after he was seen on video stepping on a liberal activist’s head at a rally Monday night, according to Lexington police.
Tim Profitt, a volunteer with Paul's campaign, told the Herald-Leader he was concerned the woman was trying to attack Paul and acted only to subdue her.
“The way she went after him it looked like something bad was getting ready to happen,” said Profitt, 53, of Bourbon County.
He said he put his foot on her shoulder, not her head. "I said, ‘Now you stay down,’ and called for police. The only thing we were trying to do was subdue her.”
He criticized police for not taking action after other supporters warned authorities about the activist.
Profitt will be ordered to appear before a Fayette County District Court Judge, police said.
Paul has cut ties with Profitt. Paul had been criticized earlier in the day for not denouncing the attack strongly enough, but a later statement said Paul is “extremely disappointed in, and condemns” the actions of what it called a supporter.
“The Paul campaign has disassociated itself from the volunteer who took part in this incident, and once again urges all activists -- on both sides -- to remember that their political passions should never manifest themselves in physical altercations of any kind,” the statement said.
The incident happened as Paul arrived at the Kentucky Educational Television studio on Cooper Drive in Lexington for a debate with Attorney General Jack Conway, his Democratic opponent.
Lauren Lizabeth Valle, 23, an activist with MoveOn.org, tried to get close to Paul to give him a fake award portraying him as a tool of big business, as the group has done elsewhere.
However, at least two men in the crowd grabbed her and pushed her down. Profitt put his foot on her shoulder and shoved down forcefully on her neck and head.
Police are investigating the incident as a fourth-degree assault. Anyone with information on the identities of others involved in the incident is asked to call Lexington police at (859) 258-3600.
A spokeswoman for MoveOn said Valle went to a hospital on Monday night to be checked and has a concussion. She was not admitted.
The stomping was one of two reported to Lexington police outside the debate. Paul supporter Marsha Foster, 49, reported that earlier in the night a person had intentionally stomped on her broken foot, causing “minor visible injuries,” according to a police report. Foster could not be reached immediately for comment.
Valle was trying to get her picture taken with Paul and present him an employee of the month award from RepubliCorp, a fictional name MoveOn is using around the country to illustrate its argument that right wing groups are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the election to help the GOP take back Congress, said Eliza Brinkmeyer, a spokeswoman for MoveOn,
Valle told police the men “intentionally forced her to the ground and began kicking her in the head,” according to a police report. She reported pain in her left temple.
Police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts said Tuesday that detectives were reviewing videos of the altercation.
Paul’s campaign released a statement calling the altercation “incredibly unfortunate.”
“Violence of any kind has no place in our civil discourse and we urge supporters on all sides to be civil to one another as tensions rise heading toward this very important election,” the statement said.
On Fox News Tuesday morning, Paul said there was a lot of passion on both sides when he showed up for the debate. Scores of Paul and Conway supporters had gathered in the parking lot of KET.
“It really was something where you walk into a daze of lights flashing, people yelling and screaming, bumping up. There was a bit of a crowd control problem,” Paul said on Fox. “I don’t want anybody, though, to be involved in things that aren’t civil. I think this should always be about the issues. It is an unusual situation to have so many people, so passionate on both sides, jockeying back and forth and it wasn’t something that I liked or anybody liked about that situation.”
Justin Ruben, executive director of MoveOn.org, said in a statement that he was “appalled” by the incident.
“This kind of violence has no place in American society, much less at a peaceful political rally,” Ruben said. “Our first concern is obviously Lauren’s health and well being. She is recovering, and we will release more details as we have them. We are concerned that no arrests have yet been made, and we hope those responsible will be brought to justice quickly, and that Rand Paul will join us in condemning this horrible act.”
MoveOn.org has bought television advertisements in support of Conway.
A spokesman for Conway said Valle has not worked with his campaign in any capacity and that there was no coordination between MoveOn and the campaign for the rally outside the debate.
“I was shocked to see video footage of a Rand Paul supporter stomping the head of a woman outside the debate last night,” Conway said in a statement issued by John Collins, a campaign spokesman.
“We can disagree on issues, and I don’t know what preceded the incident, but physical violence by a man against a woman must never be tolerated,” Conway said. “It is my hope that steps have been taken to ensure this kind of thuggish behavior never happens again in this campaign.”
On Tuesday, Profitt confirmed he is the man shown putting his foot on Valle, but he said he did not stomp or kick her, and did not intend to hurt her.
Profitt said Valle moved in an "aggressive" manner as she tried to get close to Paul, but Paul supporters held her back and called for police.
Then, Profitt said, Valle got loose and ran toward Paul a second time. Paul supporters again held her, but she went down on her own to make it look like she was being pushed down, Profitt said.
When she was on the ground, Profitt put his foot on her. "I said, 'Now you stay down,'" he said.
Profitt said he and others were only trying to subdue Valle because of the potential threat to Paul.
Profitt apologized, but also blamed MoveOn for forcing the incident.
"It was actually like a self-defense thing, the way I see it," said Profitt, who is retired.
He also said Paul supporters told police Valle might be up to something before the incident and asked officers to escort Paul through the crowd, but they said that wasn't their job.
Sherelle Roberts, spokeswoman for Lexington police, said police couldn't have interfered because the woman did not do anything illegal.
"It's not illegal to take a picture with somebody," Roberts said.
Valle told the Huffington Post that supporters of Paul started grabbing for her and she ran to get away from them.
"One or two people twisted my arms behind my back and took me down. It was about two-to-three seconds after that that another person stomped on my head," Valle said on the Web site.
In an interview on Fox News Tuesday, Paul described a chaotic situation when he arrived.
"It really was something where you walk into a daze of lights flashing, people yelling and screaming, bumping up. There was a bit of a crowd control problem," Paul said. "I don't want anybody, though, to be involved in things that aren't civil. I think this should always be about the issues. It is an unusual situation to have so many people, so passionate on both sides, jockeying back and forth and it wasn't something that I liked or anybody liked about that situation."
Hogue, the MoveOn.org spokeswoman, said Valle suffered a concussion and sprained arm and shoulder and spent the night in a Lexington hospital.
She was staying in Kentucky Tuesday with a MoveOn member, who Hogue declined to identify.
"She's hurting" and may not return to the campaign trail, Hogue said.
Hogue scoffed at the notion that Paul's supporters needed to protect him from Valle.
Valle wasn't the only one outside KET who faced hostility from Paul supporters, Michael J. Grossman, a corporate official in Lexington, said in an e-mail to the Herald-Leader.
A Paul supporter also tried to "take me down" just after Valle was attacked, then berated him, said Grossman, who had a Conway sign.
"It was a relatively calm political event until the Rand Paul people simply went nuts when their candidate arrived," Grossman said. "By and large they appeared to be a very hostile group of people who were looking for trouble, and I guess they got it."
MoveOn has bought television ads supporting Conway. However, the organization does not coordinate its activities with candidates, Hogue said.
The alleged assault touched off a furor of statements and commentary from the left and right.
Internet sites across the political and media spectrum rushed to post video footage of the incident, and Democrats denounced the treatment of Valle.
"What I saw last night was not politics, it was an angry mob," state Sen. Denise Harper Angel, a Louisville Democrat, said on a conference call arranged by the Kentucky Democratic Party.
On the right, conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh called Valle a "professional agitator" and suggested she would have fared worse if she'd rushed at President Obama.
In May, Valle and six other Greenpeace volunteers were arrested during a protest in Louisiana of offshore oil drilling following the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the organization announced.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/26/1495641_p2/moveonorg-activist-stomped-in.html#ixzz13Vx2Ncxr
Editor's comment: We have to STOP the insanity on ALL sides!
Labels: Rand Paul
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 6:55 PM
2 Comments:
I saw the video and it made me nauseous. The woman was clearly pinned down when Tim Profitt walked up to her and stomped on her head twice.
If this is what he does in public, I am loathe to imagine what he does in private.
Fascist Brownshirt tactics,disgrace already being covered up!
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