A man was arrested July 22 in Great Barrington, Mass.,
outside a townhall event for U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren when he got into a
scuffle with the independent challenger to
Ayyadurai was campaigning outside of the Democratic
incumbent’s event when a “racist guy committed a hate crime” by hitting him in
the face with his own megaphone, the Indian American candidate said in a Twitter
video post.
"Fortunately the police were here and they took him
away," he said in the video. "It really says a lot about what's going
on in this country because you can't have a civil discourse."
A video of the scuffle posted on YouTube (see video here) shows Ayyadurai using
his megaphone to question why townhall attendees won't engage in a
"discourse on racism," when a man begins to yell back.
The
The man then pushes Ayyadurai’s megaphone, which hit him in
the face. Supporters of Ayyadurai came to his defense, taking the man to the
ground, and Ayyadurai could be heard saying, “guys, stop,” until officers
intervened and arrested the man.
“That’s racism, right there,” Ayyadurai, who was bleeding
and his lips swollen as a result of the attack, said.
In an email to supporters, Ayyadurai urged