Prosecutors moved to formally charge a woman arrested during Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s town hall in Newburgh on Wednesday night with four counts, including felony battery against a public safety official.
The charges come as prosecutors levied misdemeanor counts against a second attendee, also arrested Wednesday night, and as the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office appeared ready to seek the arrest of a third: Kellie Moore, a Democratic candidate for Indiana’s 64th Congressional district and former congressional candidate.
The news that Moore could face arrest for allegedly striking a sheriff’s deputy as Beckwith’s town hall at the Ohio Township Trustee’s Office devolved into chaos Wednesday night came in newly filed probable cause affidavits supporting the charges filed against the other two attendees, Amanda Bennett and Matthew Eike.
In the affidavits, Sgt. Thomas Rohl, of the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office, wrote that the crowd became “increasingly agitated with (Beckwith)” as attendees “began shouting and screaming at him.”
Bennett, 38, was captured on video by reporters and bystanders shouting profanities at Beckwith before being tackled to the ground by a Warrick County Sheriff’s Office deputy.
The deputy was working off duty for the lieutenant governor’s security detail, according to court records and Warrick County Sheriff Mike Wilder.
In addition to the battery charge, Bennett also faces one misdemeanor count of resisting law enforcement and two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, according to court records.
Eike, 40, likewise is charged with resisting law enforcement and two counts of disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors. Bennett and Eike were released on bail Thursday. It was not immediately clear if they had retained defense attorneys.
The progressive activist group 50501 Movement said in a public statement that Bennett and Eike were “affiliated” with the organization and demanded a “full, transparent investigation.”
What deputies allege in sworn affidavits
In sworn affidavits filed in support of the charges, Rohl wrote that after Bennett was ordered to leave Beckwith’s town hall, she made for the exit but “began causing a disturbance” while enroute.
As Bennett left her seat, she could be heard saying, “this is f—ing bulls–t.” She then pointed at Beckwith and said, “F— you, Micah Beckwith,” whom she also called a “bitch.”
Beckwith told the crowd Bennett had a “mental disorder” as she continued toward the doors.
“Deputy (Dan) Bullock and I moved along the outside of the chairs to intercept (Bennett) to ensure she left without further issues,” Rohl wrote. “As (Bennett) reached the foyer, I observed her turn toward Deputy Bullock, who then escorted her to the ground.”
Bullock, now atop Bennett, handcuffed her as she lay on her stomach as onlookers gathered around.
In video shot by Moore, Bennett denied making contact with the deputy. Just after being tackled and handcuffed, she said Bullock made contact with her first.
“I was leaving,” Bennett is heard saying. “This man got right behind me and touched me with his body first.”
Rohl alleged that Eike “pulled away” and “actively resisted” being taken into custody during the ensuing commotion. Rohl accused Eike of “aggressively speaking” to another attendee, whom Rohl said Eike appeared to “push.”
A subsequent review of surveillance footage obtained from the Ohio Township Trustee’s Office “clearly showed (Bennett) pushing Deputy Bullock before being escorted to the ground,” Rohl alleged in the affidavit.
In a statement posted online after the town hall was called off, Beckwith accused Bennett of slapping a deputy.
According to Rohl’s sworn account, the surveillance footage also showed Moore striking Bullock. Rohl wrote that he was requesting Moore “also be charged with battery on law enforcement,” though as of Thursday afternoon, she did not have an active criminal case listed in Warrick County court records.
Reached by phone, Moore told the Courier & Press she had not been made aware of the recommendation that she be charged, and she denied ever striking the deputy.
Wednesday night, Moore publicly accused the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office of “police brutality.”
Beckwith, who identifies as a “Christian nationalist,” has long positioned himself as a political outsider with deep ties to the Republican party’s activist base. He is an outspoken critic of liberal causes and has in recent weeks faced off with audience members at rowdy town halls across Indiana.
At a May 27 town hall in Zionsville, Indiana, Beckwith told the roughly 100 attendees that if they “shoot little snide remarks” at him he “might just shoot them right back.” The Indiana Capitol Chronicle reported that about 30 protesters gathered outside the event.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Woman arrested at Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s town hall charged with felony battery
Reporting by Houston Harwood and Sarah Loesch, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
