Nov. 11—Allen West, a conservative primary challenger to Gov. Greg Abbott, could face a misdemeanor assault charge after he swiped at a fellow traveler at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport last week and tore off the man's mask.
Lawrence Eric Stern had confronted West at the airport, telling him to "Put your mask on, idiot," according to an airport police report. Stern told the Dallas Morning News that he wants to see West charged in the incident.
"There's no mask law, nothing has ever passed in the US House and Senate making wearing a mask law," West wrote on Twitter afterward. West has made opposition to mask mandates part of his policy platform in his gubernatorial bid, describing such mandates as "draconian law."
A local prosecutor will decide whether to bring charges in the coming weeks, said a spokeswoman for the Grapevine Municipal Court.
A security camera at the airport captured the incident, but it didn't capture the men's faces. The police report said instead that "they could see both gentlemen's arms moving towards each other."
Stern said in the police report that he recognized West as a public figure and was standing in line at the airport Dunkin' Donuts as West passed. The two men gave similar accounts of the scuffle.
West, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, approached Stern and asked him, "What did you say?"
Stern repeated himself, this time without using the word "idiot."
Both men agree that West grabbed the mask from Stern's face, although West said he "flicked" the mask off.
Stern, who was not injured, says West struck him in the face as he tore the mask. Stern then shoved West away from him.
"There, now isn't that better?" West said.
After the incident, Stern said, West called him a "stupid white man," while West said Stern put his fists up in a fighting position before West walked away.
The police report outlines the grounds for a misdemeanor assault charge, defined as when a person "intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another when the person knows or should reasonably believe that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative."
Such a charge carries a maximum punishment of a $4,000 fine and one year in jail.
___
(c)2021 the San Antonio Express-News
Visit the San Antonio Express-News at www.mysanantonio.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
