A Donald Trump supporter who allegedly assaulted a woman during a Trump campaign rally last year is claiming that he wouldn’t have done if it weren’t for the President.
Alvin Bamberger, 75 is accused of violently shoving protester Kashiya Nwanguma during a Louisville, Kentucky rally in March of last year. In a cross claim filed Friday, Bamberger claims he wouldn’t have done anything is Trump hadn’t egged his supporters on from the podium.
“Bamberger had no prior intention to act as he did,” the cross claim reads according to NBC News. “Bamberger would not have acted as he did without Trump and/or the Trump Campaign’s specific urging and inspiration.”
Nwanguma, along with two fellow protesters. Molly Shah and Henry Brousseau, alleged in their initial lawsuit that they were assaulted by audience members who were incited by Trump. In a viral video of the incident, the president is heard saying “get them out” while gesturing towards the protesters. Bamberger’s lawyers also argued that Trump “promised to pay the legal fees” of those who “removed the protesters,” arguing that the promise caused Bamberger to act.
“[Bamberger] denies that he assaulted that woman, lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the woman’s identity, and denies the characterization of his actions as ‘most aggressive’ or ‘shoving … and striking,'” the cross claim reads.
From NBC News:
The veteran previously apologized for the events that unfolded at the rally in a letter to the Korean War Association, whose uniform he wore at the rally. He admitted that he “physically pushed a woman down the aisle toward the exit” in the letter, according to the lawsuit. Bamberger was never criminally charged for his actions.
The cross claim comes two weeks after a federal judge ruled that the lawsuit against Bamberger and the Trump campaign can continue. Trump’s lawyers tried to claim that then-candidate Trump was just exercising his right to free speech rather than inciting violence.
Video of the attack can be seen below:
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