Man in Trump-shaped flotation device charged with assault after breathing on protesters



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A supporter of President Donald Trump was charged Sunday with the misdemeanor of assault in Loudon County, Va., For breathing heavily on protesters outside the Trump National Golf Club.

“Please help” Kathy Beynett wrote a tweet on Saturday that went viral, showing video of a man – identified by the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office as Raymond Deskins – coming towards her without covering his face saying “get away from me” and “you have no mask on “. It is not known exactly what happened before the video was recorded.

Deskins, 61, inhales and exhales deeply and blows his breath towards the protesters. In the video, he can be seen wearing an inflatable flotation device around his waist in the shape of Trump.

“He crossed the street to attack 2 elderly people,” Beynett, 67, wrote in her tweet. “You want to identify where a contact tracing becomes necessary. Think Ray’s name. Virginia res. Cadillac driven. It happened in golf.” She refers to Deskins in subsequent tweets as “the Covid monster”.

Loudon County Sheriff’s Information Officer Michele Bowman confirmed the incident in an email to NBC News.

“On November 21, 2020, two separate parties reported being assaulted during a verbal argument outside the Trump National Golf Club, located at 20391 Lowes Island Boulevard,” Bowman said.

As the incident was not observed by law enforcement and the video did not capture the entire interaction, an investigation was conducted at the scene and both parties were informed that they could go to a magistrate in Loudoun County and apply for a obtained citizen’s warrant. “

Bowman said protesters requested a citizen’s arrest warrant and Deskins was charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor, on Sunday at his home in Sterling, Va., And released on summons. Deskins did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

Beynett, of Leesburg, Va., Said she has been protesting outside Trump’s golf course during her visits for nearly four years.

She said it was the first time she had captured Deskins on camera, describing him as a “bully” who had challenged several anti-Trump protesters to physical fights during previous protests on the golf course.

Beynett said when she and her protesting partner went to the Loudon County Magistrate to ask for an assault charge, there was “a lot of laughter” from the judge. She said she was eventually given “a number to go to the health department to complain that people are not wearing masks.”

“And we said, ‘No, you know very well, we asked to charge him with assault,'” Beynett recalls. “And finally, he had to do his job.”

Beynett said protesting on the golf course was getting too dangerous: “I don’t go around these people anymore,” Beynett said. “They are too violent. I’m going to have a target on me worse than ever now.”



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