September 16, 2018

USA: A Democrat Tried To Stab A GOP Congressional Candidate Working An Election Booth At A Town Festival. He Was Shouting "F- Trump, F-Trump" And "I'm Going To Kill You, MotherF-er!"

SF Gate News
written by Megan Cassidy, San Francisco Chronicle
Tuesday September 11, 2018

A Castro Valley man shouting profanities about President Trump attacked a Republican congressional candidate who was working an election booth at a town festival, threatening him and trying to stab him with a switchblade, authorities and the candidate said Tuesday.

Farzad Vincent Fazeli, 35, was jailed after the alleged Sunday attack on Rudy Peters at the Castro Valley Fall Festival. Alameda County prosecutors charged Fazeli on Tuesday with a felony count of making criminal threats and misdemeanor counts of exhibiting a deadly weapon and possessing a switchblade.

No one was seriously injured. In an interview, Peters said he had never been concerned about his safety prior to Sunday, though his wife has often warned him to be careful.

“It’s a shame,” he said. “People are just polarized right now, and this country’s divided and it’s just a mess. It shouldn’t be that way.”

Sheriff’s deputies responded at about 3:45 p.m. to a report of a possible knife attack at the festival on Castro Valley Boulevard. According to officials, witnesses told deputies that Fazeli approached Peters in an “aggressive manner” at his booth, and made “disparaging remarks” about the GOP and “elected officials.”

“All of a sudden we hear someone screaming, “F— Trump, f— Trump!” Peters recalled. He said the man raised his middle finger and was “standing right in front of the booth.”

Peters had been sitting with Joseph Grcar, a Republican state Assembly candidate. He said they were both “kind of shocked” by the outburst, but that the man seemed like he was walking off. “The next thing you know,” Peters said, “he stops and turns around and says, ‘I’ll show you,’ and runs at the booth.”

Peters said the man grabbed a coffee cup from the table and threw it at him, prompting Peters to come around the table and “grab him.” Peters said he threw him to the ground before the suspect hopped back up, reached into his pocket and grabbed the switchblade.

"He’s screaming, ‘I’m gonna kill you, motherf—er!’” Peters said. “He had the knife, but the blade wouldn't shoot out."

A sheriff’s deputy said in a court affidavit that Fazeli threatened to use the pink switchblade on Peters but “could not open it.”

Peters said he grabbed a sign from a nearby cupcake booth and braced to use it as a shield. Someone stepped in and urged the attacker to calm down, Peters said, before he left the booth.

Peters reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Office, which had deputies seated a few booths away. Fazeli was soon detained at a nearby bank, officials said.

Peters is running for the 15th Congressional District of California, which represents Hayward and the surrounding area and eastern Alameda County, and is a supporter of President Trump. Peters’ website advertises “MAGA” on its home page, an acronym for Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”

He is running against Democratic incumbent Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin. In a tweet Tuesday, Swalwell wrote he was “glad to hear Mr. Peters is okay.”

“But it’s NEVER okay to use violence to settle political disagreements (or any disagreement),” the tweet continued.

Fazeli has past convictions in Alameda County for burglary and battery, records show. On his Facebook page, he criticized Trump for “complacency” following this year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

Fazeli is licensed to work as a security guard in California, according to state documents.

Chronicle Staff Writer Gwendolyn Wu contributed to this report.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
The Daily Caller
written by Peter J. Hasson
Wednesday September 12, 2018

More than 24 hours after authorities announced the arrest of a California man who allegedly tried to stab a Republican congressional candidate, CNN has yet to inform its audience of the story.

Farzad Fazeli, 35, allegedly made disparaging remarks about the Republican Party before pulling out a switchblade and attempting to stab Rudy Peters at a festival Sunday, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

Peters is the Republican nominee in California’s 15th Congressional District, where he is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell.

The sheriff’s office arrested Fazeli on Tuesday and announced it to the public that afternoon.

But by Wednesday evening, CNN had published zero articles on the attempted stabbing. A Daily Caller News Foundation review of CNN’s on-air coverage Tuesday and Wednesday found zero segments informing viewers of the attack.

Fazeli approached Peters and “made disparaging remarks” about the Republican Party and elected officials before the attempted stabbing, the sheriff’s office said, citing witness statements.

“The knife malfunctioned and the victim became involved in a physical struggle with Fazeli,” the sheriff’s office said.

President Donald Trump was among the elected officials that Fazeli disparaged before his attack on Peters, the San Francisco Gate reported.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who narrowly survived a politically motivated mass assassination attempt in July 2017, called on Democrats to tone down their rhetoric and denounce political violence in response to Sunday’s attempted stabbing.

A CNN spokeswoman did not return a request for comment.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 12:58 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)