A woman from Tallahassee has been charged by Florida authorities for her involvement in an incident on Saturday, during which she reportedly assaulted Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) at a private event.
Selena J. Chambers, a 41-year-old woman from Tallahassee, Fla., was charged with one count of battery on an elected official and one count of battery, to touch or strike, by Walton County officers who arrested her. According to a press release from Rep. Gaetz’s office, Chambers describes herself as a member of the “Resistance.”
According to a statement, Gaetz intends to pursue charges against Chambers over the incident, citing his desire to uphold standards of civil conduct and ensure the safety of residents in Florida.
“I will never allow the safety of Northwest Floridians to be compromised. I will be pressing charges against this individual in order to uphold the civility our community deserves. Thank you to the Walton County Sheriff’s office for taking swift action,” the congressman said in a statement.
“We were enjoying catching up with new friends and old,” Gaetz said while speaking about the assault on his podcast, Firebrand. “As I was chatting with one gentleman, a lady threw a drink on the both of us, and she was promptly arrested.”
Gaetz described the situation as “very strange.”
“Whenever there’s a conservative who acts out of line, it’s like the biggest story in the world. But when you get a radicalized leftist breaking the peace in my community, who traveled here by the way from Tallahassee, Florida, I doubt it’ll get the same pickup. But we will make sure that there are appropriate consequences through the legal system because that’s what the safety of our community demands.”
BREAKING: Tallahassee Woman Arrested and Charged with Assaulting Congressman Matt Gaetz on Saturday Evening, Gaetz Issues Statement in Response
“I will never allow the safety of Northwest Floridians to be compromised. I will be pressing charges against this individual in order… pic.twitter.com/lXccJypznU
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 2, 2023
According to CNN, Chambers has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to a Walton County Sheriff’s Office police report, Gaetz told officers at the scene on Saturday that Chambers and another woman were “cursing” at the congressman and his family. Gaetz said Chambers then threw a drink, which hit him in the left shoulder, according to the police report.
Another person at the event, who was speaking to Gaetz at the time of the alleged incident, told officers that he too was hit, according to the police report, and that he was “soaked” from the drink. That individual told police that Chambers then “walked away” while “yelling and flipping him off.”
Neither Gaetz nor the man he was speaking with were injured in the incident, according to the police report.
While detained, Chambers reportedly claimed to law enforcement officers that she had consumed alcohol and “accidentally” spilled her drink on Rep. Gaetz while walking, after tripping. However, another woman who was with Chambers at the event informed officers that she had been cursing at Gaetz while they were leaving the area.
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