Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz Hit By Flying Drink Cup
PENSACOLA (CBSMiami/AP) — While protesting a Florida congressman, one person took things a step too far.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who frequently appears on television supporting President Donald Trump, was struck by a thrown drink as he left a town hall.
Gaetz wasn't injured Saturday when he was struck by a plastic cup lobbed by a protester in Pensacola, Florida.
Video posted online shows the second-term Republican leaving a coffee house while about 20 protesters chanted their opposition. The cup struck Gaetz in the back.
Amanda Kondrat'yev was charged with misdemeanor battery and released on $1,000 bond. She briefly ran against Gaetz in 2016 before dropping out.
Gaetz tweeted about the incident saying, "Clearly it takes more than a drink to slow down our great team."
Gaetz is currently being investigated by the Florida Bar over a tweet he sent earlier this year about Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen.
The potentially intimidating tweet came in February on the eve of Cohen's testimony criticizing Trump before a House committee. Cohen is imprisoned after pleading guilty to several crimes.
Gaetz tweeted: "Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison. She's about to learn a lot..."
Also earlier this year, Gaetz got into a heated exchange with the father of a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School victim during a hearing on Capitol Hill.
During the House's first hearing in years on gun violence prevention, Manuel Oliver interrupted Gaetz when the congressman began arguing that illegal immigration, not firearms, poses a greater threat to national security and thus requires a wall along the US-Mexico border.
Oliver's son Joaquin was one of 17 people murdered at the Parkland school in February of 2018.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
