A Los Angeles City Councilmember was seen in a physical altercation at a holiday party on Friday, sparking backlash, but he maintains he was provoked. The incident was caught on camera and shared on social media.
The councilmember, Kevin de León, was at the party in Lincoln Heights when he said that he and others with him were “assaulted.”
“This evening a staff member, volunteer, and I were violently and physically assaulted by self-proclaimed activists at a community holiday event to the dismay of a multitude of families and children who were there to celebrate a Christmas tree lighting and to receive toys and food,” the councilmember claimed in a statement shared with CBS News.
However, footage of the event on Twitter showed the opposite as De León could be seen assaulting a local organizer, pushing him onto a table by his neck.
A spokesperson for the councilman said that a group of at least five people approached him at around 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The group apparently rushed him as he was getting off stage at the party with a woman and her infant.
The spokesperson added that it was then that someone in the group allegedly headbutted De León, which resulted in the two men brawling.
The Los Angeles Police Department said that they responded to a call of a “large group fight” happening at the event. When officers arrived they found a man being treated by paramedics.
Both of the men filed battery reports with the officers, and the department is planning on investigating to determine what happened, CNN reported.
The original video posted on Friday showed the two men fighting at the event. However, another post from Saturday showed the moments before when People's City Council organizer Jason Reedy could be seen holding his phone in De León’s fac
The two then push their way through a door of the room before the scuffle seen in the first video breaks out. De León claims that a “group of individuals” had entered while he was leaving, “shouting and screaming.” He said they wouldn’t let him leave, going as far as attempting to lock the door he was exiting through.
"What is not captured obviously, in the video, as I was up against the wall, he thrusted his pelvis into me, then he headbutted me in the forehead," De León said on Friday after the fight.
De León did admit to grabbing Reedy and pushing him but said that while doing so, he was hit in the face twice, KTLA reported.
Both men shared intentions to press charges against the other.
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