PARK CITY, Utah — A man accused of assaulting Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Florida) during a party at the Sundance Film Festival was arrested Saturday, according to Park City police.
Officers responded to a report of assault at the High West Saloon in Park City just after midnight. Police said in a statement that Christian Young had unlawfully entered a private party hosted by talent agency CAA. Once inside, he assaulted Frost and a woman who was also attending the event, the police said.
In a social media post, Frost, who is 29 and identifies as Afro-Cuban, described being punched by a man Friday night. He said the man was heard making racial slurs at the event.
“Last night, I was assaulted by a man at Sundance Festival who told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face. He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off,” Frost wrote. “The individual was arrested and I am okay.”
Young was arrested and taken to Summit County Jail on charges of aggravated burglary and two counts of simple assault, according to police.
Frost was an guest at the CAA party, one of the hardest-to-score invites at the festival, held in a multiroom, multifloor saloon. Young was not on the guest list, said a person with knowledge who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing criminal investigation.
The person familiar said Young made his way through the crowd directing racial slurs at multiple attendees before he came across the congressman.
The attack, according to this person, did not appear to be motivated by Frost’s role as a member of Congress or his political activism, which includes championing gun violence prevention and abortion rights.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) called for the perpetrator to be “aggressively prosecuted.”
“Hate and political violence has no place in our country, and the entire House Democratic Caucus family stands with Maxwell,” he wrote on X on Saturday.
The incident has shaken attendees of the Utah film festival that, after more than 40 years in Park City, is relocating from Park City to Boulder, Colorado, next year.
Some have pointed to increased housing costs in Park City and the strain on a festival built around independent, lower-budget films and emerging directors. The move also comes amid broader differences between the state and the festival’s programming that has often centered on trans and LGBTQ stories.
The Sundance festival also condemned the incident.
“While the incident occurred at a non-Festival-affiliated event, such behavior is intolerable and against our values of upholding a welcoming and inspiring environment for all our attendees,” the festival said in a statement to The Washington Post. “The safety and security of our festival attendees is always our chief concern, and our thoughts are with Congressman Frost and his continued well-being.
The statement also called on anyone with additional information to contact the Park City police.
Goba reported from Washington.
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