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Caught on camera: Alabama politician strikes reporter asking about fraud allegations

(Photo: YouTube)

It’s not quite clear if it was a slap, or a scratch, but whatever it was it has landed a city commissioner in Dothan, Alabama with misdemeanour assault charges.

Amos Newsome has been charged with third degree assault and slapped with $500 bond following a confrontation between him and a reporter on Tuesday, according to WTVY.

Newsome had been facing some heat from the station and other local news outlets in the lead-up to a vote on his future over several voter fraud convictions related to his 2013 re-election in which he won by 13 votes.

In video of the incident, senior reporter Ken Curtis asked Newsome multiple times if he had plans to resign over the allegations.

Newsome pushed Curtis aside as the two crossed the street from the Dothan City Convention Centre following a commission meeting and Curtis tells the commissioner, “You can’t do that.”

As they reach the parking lot, Curtis still asking for comment, Newsome lashes out with an open hand seeming to claw Curtis in the face with his fingers.

Curtis suffered minor injuries that included a scratch and a cut between his eyes, and was bleeding from his cheek, according to the Dothan Eagle.

The man seen in the video trying to usher Newsome away after the incident, Dothan resident Donnell Johnson, happened to witness the assault.

“I think [Newsome’s] emotions got the better of him,” he told the Dothan Eagle. “It didn’t look good. I didn’t see everything, but it didn’t look good and I didn’t want things to escalate any further.”

WTVY said Curtis filed charges following the incident.

“I’m just sorry Mr. Newsome felt it was necessary to do that. I’m sure it has been a very stressful time for him,” Curtis told the Dothan Eagle. “But, this is not about me. This is about freedom of the press. This is for the right we have to ask questions that the public has a right to know about.”

Curtis’ employer also released a statement about what happened.

WTVY is extremely disappointed and horrified by the actions of Dothan City Commissioner Amos Newsome for his unwarranted physical attack on one of our employees. We understand that holding political office can be stressful, but that never warrants unwanted physical contact, let alone an open, public assault,” the statement reads. “Our employee was attacked in the course of doing their job, which they are entitled to do without the fear of physical violence. Freedom of the press is a guaranteed right, one that should allow us to do our jobs in a safe, non-threatening environment. WTVY intends to press charges against Commissioner Newsome, to ensure that no one else will be attacked in the course of doing their job. We’re grateful for the relationship that we continue to have with the Dothan City Commission and our elected officials.”

Newsome could face up to a year in prison and a $6,000 fine, the maximum punishment for a Class A Misdemeanour.