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Watch: Punches thrown at Arkansas GOP meeting after comments about nose ring

By FOX TV Digital Team
Published  September 7, 2024 2:40pm EDT
Politics
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Watch: Brawl breaks out at Arkansas GOP meeting

A man was punched in the face during an altercation at a Republican Committee in Benton, Arkansas. The fight apparently started after comments about someone's nose ring.

BENTON, Ark. - Comments about a nose ring led to a man being punched in the face during a county Republican Committee meeting in Benton, Arkansas, this week.

Video by Kenny Wallis of JustTheRightAngle on Rumble shows a man identified as Jimmie Cavin punching Saline County Republican Committee member Johnathan Newcomb after Newcomb approached him during a verbal altercation Thursday night.

In a post on Facebook the next day, Cavin admitted to punching Newcomb and maintained it was in "self defense."

(Kenny Wallis/JustTheRightAngle via Storyful)

Cavin said Newcomb had made a disparaging remark to a woman about her nose ring. After a tense moment between the woman with a nose ring and another woman at the microphone, Cavin said Newcomb began intimidating the woman with the nose ring. That’s when Cavin says  he verbally confronted Newcomb.

"I was standing at the back of the room and when I saw what [Newcomb] was doing, I … told [Newcomb] to not look at her but to look at me and to leave her alone," Cavin wrote. "I was hoping that would defuse [Sp] the situation.

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"[Newcomb] then began coming at me stating, ‘What are you gonna do, boy?’" Cavin continued. "I am 62 years old, 5’9 and 195 lbs. As I stated earlier, [Newcomb] is a massive man and looks to be in his thirties. With the look on his face, I knew I was in certain danger and felt others were as well."

Video shows Cavin putting himself in a "defensive position" and telling Newcomb to back away but he "just kept coming," Cavin said.

That’s when Cavin punched Newcomb in the face, causing him to bleed.

"To be clear, I do not advocate violence. However, I believe that violence is a last resort in the defense of myself and others as is our right under Arkansas law," Cavin said.

The woman with the nose ring thanked Cavin for defending her in a post on Facebook.

Newcomb was not immediately available for comment. Local news reports said no charges were filed.