On Wednesday, Sacramento mayor and former NBA star Kevin Johnson was hit in the face with a pie, and allegedly responded by tackling the pie-throwing protester and punching him repeatedly in the face.
According to EastBayExpress, Sean Thompson, 32, a former activist with the Occupy Sacramento movement, who has confronted Johnson publicly before, ran at Johnson and hurled a store-bought pie in his face, then taunted him, prompting Johnson to land “five to 10″ blows to Thompson’s face.
One witness told the Express that Thompson’s face looked like “bloody pulp.” Thompson was arrested for felony assault of a public official.
Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Bryce Heinlein told the Express, “The mayor did strike the suspect after he was assaulted. Thompson was taken to a local hospital after the incident.
The incident occurred at the Edible Garden at Johnson’s alma mater, Sacramento High School, at a celebration of Sacramento’s Farm-to-Fork week. 200 people were in attendance.
After the assault, Johnson was given a change of clothes and apologized to the audience, eliciting applause. He joked about the incident with UFC fighter Urijah Faber as they stood at the podium.
Johnson’s mayor’s chief of staff told The Sacramento Bee “the mayor was assaulted … He is home with his family. … The whole thing is just shocking.”
In 2011, Thompson spoke at a city council meeting and turned his back on Johnson, who has been under scrutiny after multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.