Florida Man Arrested for Assaulting Police Officer Who Protected Rand Paul

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

A Florida man has been arrested for assaulting the Washington, D.C. police officer who protected Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) from an unruly mob as he was leaving the Republican National Convention last week.

The Orlando man, 27-year-old Brennen Sermon, appeared in D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting a law enforcement officer. Charging documents allege Sermon kicked the officer’s bicycle and fled. Charging documents indicated the officer successfully pursued Sermon, and that Sermon required stitches after the officer punched him in the face.

Video of the incident, which took place on August 28 as Paul was departing on foot with his wife from President Donald Trump’s White House address to the convention, briefly became viral on social media, and entered into a pro-Trump ad by the Republican National Committee. Footage showed protesters shouting “No justice, no peace,” and “Say her name,” a reference to 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, the emergency medical technician from Kentucky who was mistakenly shot to death in March when police officers broke into her home on a no-knock warrant.

This new GOP ad is?pic.twitter.com/UvkYeptVPH

— Poland Loves Trump ?? (@Woj_Pawelczyk) August 29, 2020

Sermon pleaded not guilty to the charge. He faces up to 180 days in prison and a fine of up to $1,000 if convicted.

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