By: Katie Delaune - kdelaune@fox41.com
LOUISVILLE, Ky (WDRB Fox) -- Fox 41's video of a Rand Paul supporter being violent led Lexington police to press charges against that man.
Rand Paul was getting out of his car Monday night and making his way through the crowd trying to get inside to the debate with Jack Conway.
Then all of a sudden a scuffle broke out. Lauren Valle, from MoveOn.org was trying to approach Dr. Paul to hand him a phony award. The crowd of Paul supporters stops her. They pulled off Valle's wig, drug her to the ground and shouted, "Get the police."
Then another man wearing a Rand Paul t-shirt and stickers picked up his foot and stomped on Valle's shoulder and head while someone shouted for him to stop.
The spokeswoman for Lexington Police says the video helped them identify the suspect and issue a criminal summons. Associated Press says Tim Profitt is apologizing, but says the camera angle makes the scuffle appear worse than it is.
Move.On.org's Ilyse Hogue, Director of Political Advocacy and Communications, issued a statement Wednesday, saying, "I am offended and outraged by the words of Tim Profitt....Profitt said the attack was 'not a big deal,' that Lauren 'instigated it' and that 'she should apologize' -- words that are eerily familiar to many women who have faced assault and abuse."
The statement continued, "Lauren's exercise of her First Amendment rights cannot possibly justify the violence against her any more than a woman's clothes can excuse a sexual assault....Candidates on both sides of the aisle, including Rand Paul, must condemn Profitt's outrageous statements and call out this violence for what it is: anti-women and anti-American."
Profitt was a Bourbon County campaign coordinator for the Paul campaign up until Tuesday. Paul's camp has removed him from the role.
Police plan to charge him with 4th degree assault, which is a misdemeanor. "He will just be charged, but not arrested, says Sherell Roberts, Lexington Police spokeswoman.
The reason for that is when a misdemeanor is committed, officers have to actually be present and have to see the crime being committed in order to effect an arrest.
Police say KET, the sponsors of the debate, alerted them about a large crowd gathering outside their studios. Two or three officers were there for a crowd of about 100, but not on the scene of the fight. Profitt criticizes police for not stepping in.
Both Paul and Conway camps issued press statements.
Paul sent out a couple, with the latest saying, "The Paul for Senate campaign is extremely disappointed in, and condemns the actions of a supporter last night outside the KET debate. Whatever the perceived provocation, any level of aggression or violence is deplorable, and will not be tolerated by our campaign. 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."
Jack Conway said in an email statement, "I was shocked to see video footage of a Rand Paul supporter stomping the head of a woman outside the debate last night. 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. It is my hope that steps have been taken to ensure this kind of thuggish behavior never happens again in this campaign."
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Lauren Valle, MoveOn.org
Tim Profitt
