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A Castro Valley man shouting blasphemies at President Trump attacked a Republican congressional candidate who was working at an election booth at a festival in the city, threatening him and stabbing him with a knife, authorities said Tuesday. .
Farzad Vincent Fazeli, 35, was jailed after the alleged Sunday attack on Rudy Peters at the Castro Valley Fall Festival. On Tuesday, Alameda County prosecutors accused Fazeli of making criminal threats and committing minor offenses by presenting a deadly weapon and having a bridge.
Nobody was seriously injured. In an interview, Peters said he had never been concerned about his safety until Sunday, although his wife often warned him to pay attention.
"It's a shame," he said. "People are just polarized right now, and this country is divided and it's just a mess. It should not be like that.
The sheriff's deputies responded at around 3:45 pm to a report of a possible knife attack at the festival on Castro Valley Boulevard. According to officials, witnesses told MPs that Fazeli had approached Peters "aggressively" on his stand and made "derogatory remarks" about the GOP and "elected officials".
"Suddenly we hear someone screaming" F-Trump, f- Trump! He said that the man had lifted his middle finger and was standing right in front of the cabin.
Peters was sitting with Joseph Grcar, candidate for the Republican State Assembly. He said that they were both "a little shocked" by the blast, but that the man seemed to be leaving. "The next thing you know," Peters said, "he stops and turns around and says," I'll show you, "and runs to the booth.
Peters said the man had grabbed a cup of coffee on the table and threw it on him, prompting Peters to get around the table and "catch him". Peters said that he had thrown him to the ground before the suspect went back up, grabbed the switchblade.
"He's screaming, I'll kill you, Mom!" Said Peters. "He had the knife, but the blade was not going to shoot."
A sheriff's deputy said in an affidavit that Fazeli had threatened to use the pink switch on Peters but that he "could not open it."
Peters said he grabbed a sign at a cupcake stand nearby and was preparing to use it as a shield. Someone intervened and urged the attacker to calm down, Peters said before leaving the booth.
Peters reported the incident to the sheriff's office, where deputies were seated at a few stands. Fazeli was soon detained in a nearby bank, officials said.
Peters runs for the 15th Congressional District of California, which represents Hayward and surrounding area and Alameda County in the east, and supports President Trump. Peters' website announces "MAGA" on its homepage, an acronym for the Trump campaign's "Make America Great Again" slogan.
He runs against outgoing Democratic representative Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin. In one tweet On Tuesday, Swalwell wrote that he was "happy to hear that Mr. Peters is doing well".
"But it is NEVER acceptable to use violence to settle political disputes (or disagreements)," the tweet continued. "Fortunately, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office has arrested the suspect."
Fazeli has previous convictions in Alameda County for burglary and battery, according to the records. On his Facebook page, he criticized Trump for his "complacency" after this year's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. In another post, he wrote "Hurricane Irma … Payback for voting Donald Trump".
Fazeli is allowed to work as a security guard in California, according to official documents.
Megan Cassidy is a writer at the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @meganrcassidy
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