Around New England

Man Attacked for Holding Trump Sign To Be Honored At Cape Rally on Saturday, June 13

June 12, 2020

An 82-year-old man who witnesses say was attacked in Fall River for holding a Trump sign is scheduled to be the guest of honor at a pro-Trump standout at the Bourne Rotary tomorrow.

Tom Hodgson, sheriff of Bristol County, is also expected to be on hand, according to United Cape Patriots founder Adam Lange.

Charlie Chase, a Fall River resident and U.S. Air Force veteran, was attacked Tuesday, June 2 at a rotary in Fall River by a 27-year-old man who stopped his car, got out, demanded the sign, and then ripped it out of his hands and knocked him to the ground, witnesses told police.

A Fall River police officer arrived at the scene at about 5:30 p.m. that day after police were called by onlookers, according to a police report obtained by New Boston Post.

Chase told the police officer that he was standing there holding a Trump sign when a man “walked towards” him “screaming ‘Give me the f—— sign!’” the police report states.

The man, whom police identified as Aidan Courtright, a Fall River resident, “ripped the sign out of Chase’s hands and ripped it in half and threw him on the ground.”

“Courtright then went after Chase grabbing him by his shirt, knocking his hat off, and throwing him violently to the ground. Once Chase was on the ground Courtright continued the attack by kicking him in his ribs and legs. Courtright violently kicked Chase with his leather pointed shoes,” the police report states.

Two witnesses told the officer they saw the attack from start to finish, according to the police report.

The man drove away, but the officer later found the man’s car at an apartment complex. He initially “would not leave the apartment he was hiding in,” the police report states, but after being called by a police dispatcher, he agreed to meet the officer at the police station to turn himself in.

Courtright has been charged with assault and battery on someone over 60, assault and battery with a deadly weapon, violation of civil rights, and vandalism.

A lawyer for the suspect called Courtright “a peaceful and gentle son,” said there’s no physical evidence that Chase was kicked in the ribs, and described some accounts of the incident as exaggerated during a dangerousness hearing before a judge on Wednesday, June 3, according to the Fall River Herald News.

The Bourne Rotary rally tomorrow is expected to be the ninth weekend in a row United Cape Patriots has demonstrated to re-open the Cape’s economy and public life and to support President Donald Trump.

The standout is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 13 at the Bourne Rotary near the parking lot of Dunkin’ Donuts, on the Cape side of the Cape Cod Canal.