California law enforcement officials arrested a man Sunday for allegedly assaulting a Republican congressional candidate in what appears to be a politically motivated attack.
Authorities arrested Farzad Fazeli, 35, after he allegedly attacked Republican Rudy Peters “who is running against incumbent Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) for the 15th congressional district seat,” CBS San Francisco reported.
Witnesses told police that Fazeli approached Peters “aggressively” while he was at the Castro Valley Fall Festival and “made disparaging, profanity-laced remarks about the Republican party and President Donald Trump.”
Law enforcement officials say that Fazeli then tried attacking Peters with a switchblade knife but failed as the knife malfunctioned. Peters then reportedly engaged in a physical confrontation with Fazeli until he fled the scene.
The Mercury News reported that Fazeli “was initially arrested on suspicion of felony assault, criminal threats, brandishing a weapon and possession of a switchblade knife,” and was later booked into Santa Rita Jail.
The attack follows months of inflammatory rhetoric emanating from the Democratic party.
In July, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) urged leftists to “get up in the face” of congressional members, which came just two days after he said that supporters of Judge Brett Kavanaugh were “complicit in evil.”
Even more disturbing were remarks made by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) who called for the harassment of Trump administration officials in June.
“Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up and if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere,” Waters said.
Waters doubled-down on her rhetoric this week by telling a group of supporters that she “threatens” Trump supporters “all the time.”
