Providence off-duty police officer on paid leave after assaulting political opponent at abortion rights rally - The Boston Globe
Rally organizer and R.I. Political Cooperative co-founder Jennifer Rourke was attempting to deescalate a conflict when Jeann Lugo, her Republican opponent for State Senate District 29, began punching her in the face. Lugo was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct.
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Rally organizer and R.I. Political Cooperative co-founder Jennifer Rourke was attempting to deescalate a conflict when Jeann Lugo, her Republican opponent for State Senate District 29, began punching her in the face. Lugo was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct
PROVIDENCE — As hundreds gathered on the plaza at the bottom of the Rhode Island State House steps Friday night for a rally after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a man who was live-streaming the demonstration began shouting at the crowd.
The man, who identified himself as Josh Mello of Cranston on the social media accounts where he shared his live stream, was quickly surrounded by people, many of whom told him to leave. One man pushed Mello. More people started shouting.
One of the demonstration's organizers, Jennifer Rourke — a board member of The Womxn Project and candidate for a State Senate District 29 seat in Warwick — rushed over to try to defuse the situation. "This (conflict) is not what this is about," Rourke, who is also a co-founder of the R.I. Political Cooperative, told the Globe on Saturday.
Video from the demonstration shows Rourke holding her hands up and repeatedly asking people, in English and Spanish, to move away. She asked Mello to leave, and she said he agreed.
But as Mello walked up the stairs to the first platform at the State House steps, waving his cell phone as he continued live stream, he was assaulted by an unidentified man in a green- and white-striped jacket. As of Saturday, the man had not been identified.
"I screamed 'Don't hit him,'" Rourke said in a phone interview Saturday morning. Then, video shows, someone struck her in the face. "I was hit multiple times," she said.
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On Saturday afternoon, Lugo was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct, the Providence police reported. The arrest result from coordinated efforts of the Providence Police Department's Office of Professional Responsibility and the Rhode Island State Police.
Lugo, 35, of Warwick, was arraigned by a bail commissioner at the State Police barracks, and released on personal recognizance, with a re-arraignment date of July 8. He has been suspended with pay from the Providence Police Department.
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Just before 2 p.m. on Saturday, Lugo quietly ended his campaign for State Senate District 29. "I will not be running for any office this fall," he Tweeted at 1:52 p.m. Seconds later, his Twitter account was deactivated, though his campaign website remained active.
Last two tweets before deactivating: