Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Democrat of Florida, was hit in the face by a man who told the lawmaker that he would be deported at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, over the weekend.
The attacker “told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face,” Mr. Frost said in a social media post on Saturday. “He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off.”
The Park City police said they responded to reports of an assault just after midnight on Saturday at the High West Saloon, a whiskey distillery and bar where a private party was being held.
Danielle Snelson, a community outreach lieutenant with the Park City Police Department, identified the assailant as Christian Young in an email Saturday night. Mr. Young “assaulted Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost and a female who was attending the private event,” Ms. Snelson said.
Mr. Young had “unlawfully” entered the event after being turned away because he did not have an invitation, according to Ms. Snelson. The police did not offer a possible motive for Mr. Young’s entry or assault.
The police arrested Mr. Young and booked him into the Summit County Jail on charges of aggravated burglary and two counts of simple assault.
Mr. Frost’s family moved from Cuba to Florida in the early 1960s, part of a wave of hundreds of thousands of Cuban refugees who were flown to the United States, according to his campaign website.
Elected in 2022 at the age of 25, Mr. Frost became the first member of Generation Z to win a seat in Congress. He represents District 10, an area in Central Florida that includes much of Orlando.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, was one of several politicians who expressed their shock over the attack on social media. “Hate and political violence has no place in our country,” Mr. Jeffries said in a post on X.
“I am okay. Thank you for all the well wishes. We are in scary times,” Mr. Frost said in a later post on his personal X account. “Please stay safe and do not let these people silence you. Onwards.”
A representative from Sundance Film Festival did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to Variety, the festival organizers said in a statement that they “strongly condemn last night’s assault and abhor any form of violence, harassment, and hate speech.”
Jin Yu Young is a reporter and researcher for The Times, based in Seoul, covering South Korea and international breaking news.
The post Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost Is Assaulted at Sundance Film Festival appeared first on New York Times.
