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A Providence police officer running for the state as a Republican dropped out of Saturday’s race amid a criminal investigation into an alleged beating in the face of his Democratic opponent during an abortion protest.
The president of the Rhode Island political cooperative, Jennifer Rourke, was among those who protested Friday night in front of the state building following the decision of the US Supreme Court to terminate the right to abortion. As tensions escalated among protesters and counter-protesters, Rourke, who is running as a Democrat for a seat in the U.S. Senate in Warwick, RI, found herself not far from her Republican opponent Jean Lugo, a Providence police officer who was off duty.
A video posted on social media shows people exchanging blows in a chaotic scene. During the battle, a man Rourke says was Lugo was seen hitting her in the face.
“Last night, after speaking at our rally in Rowe, my Republican opponent, a police officer, attacked me fiercely,” Rourke wrote on Twitter. “Here’s what it’s like to be a black woman running for office. I will not give up.”
I am an organizer of reproductive rights and a candidate in the US Senate. Last night, after speaking at our Rowe rally, my Republican opponent, a police officer, attacked me fiercely.
Here’s what it’s like to be a black woman running for office. I will not give up.pic.twitter.com/ZREDP2dvXY
– Jennifer Rourke (@ JenRourke29) June 25, 2022
Lugo, a three-year veteran of the department, has been placed on administrative leave and is now under criminal investigation, Lindsay Loag, a public safety spokeswoman in Rhode Island, told The Washington Post. Rourke told the Providence Journal he wanted to charge him with assault.
“The Providence Police Department is investigating the conduct of a Providence police officer who was not on duty last night during a protest at the Rhode Island home where the woman was attacked,” Loag said in a statement.
As the video of the incident went viral on Saturday, Lugo announced that he was suspending his campaign for the US Senate.
“I will not run for any office this fall,” he tweeted.
Lugo appears to have closed his Twitter account on Saturday afternoon.
Rourke did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Before Lugo announced that he was dropping out of the competition, he told The Post that as an officer he found himself “in a situation where no one should be seen.
“I intervened to protect someone being attacked by a group of agitators,” he wrote in an email. “At the moment, there is an upcoming internal investigation, and as the facts of the incident come to light, I want my family and I to have confidentiality.
The incident happened as Washington and the cities prepared for a second day of huge street demonstrations on Saturday, after the decision was greeted with an outpouring of joy and fury on Friday night. The demonstrations, which began on Friday, were largely peaceful, although tensions in some protests escalated in some places.
Protests against abortions continue after the Supreme Court terminated Rowe against Wade
In Phoenix, police used tear gas against abortion rights activists who demonstrated in front of the Arizona Capitol, a video shows. The Arizona Department of Public Safety said protesters were smashing windows of the U.S. Senate, with some trying to break the glass. While the protest was largely peaceful, police declared the rally illegal, according to the Republic of Arizona.
Police in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, are investigating an incident Friday night in which a pickup truck drove toward protesters and hit a woman.
As protesters crossed the street in downtown Cedar Rapids, a verbal confrontation broke out between a protester and a Ford truck driver, police said. Video shows protesters were in front of the truck when the car accelerated and hit a protester. The vehicle then moved away.
Authorities said it was unclear whether the act was intentional, but protesters told KCRG that the driver went through a red light and approached a group of people. No criminal charges have been filed as of Saturday. The victim was taken to hospital for evaluation, KCRG reported.
After the Supreme Court’s decision was announced, Rourke, an organizer of women’s reproductive rights, wrote on Facebook that he would speak in protest in front of the State House in Providence with other people who were angry and devastated by the decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health.
“We can’t sit and watch the clock go back to our rights,” she wrote on Friday. “So, tonight you will join us at 20:00 [State] House to stand together and show that we will not be defeated? “
A video published by journalist Bill Bartholomew shows supporters and opponents of abortion rights arguing in front of the State House late Friday. Rourke seems to be trying to de-escalate the tense situation, a video shows.
But when a counter-protester moves away, a fight breaks out between the group, according to the video.
Rourke posted a video from Bartholomew’s video in a funny cadence on social media, which shows that he hit her in the face. She told the Journal that she had been hit at least twice by Lugo.
Lugo did not deny hitting Rourke in front of the newspaper. He said Rourke became physically involved with him, which she denied.
“To me, this looks like an act of political violence, similar to the acts of violence we’ve seen in the United States,” Rourke told the paper.
Lugo has faced criticism from local leaders, including Providence Mayor Jorge Elorsa (D). Elorza said in a statement that he was limited in what he could say in public because of the Law on the Rights of Law Enforcement Officials, which offers protection to the police when faced with disciplinary action.
“Having said that, I saw the video and it’s extremely disturbing,” Elorza said. “Those responsible will be held fully accountable.”
Less than 24 hours after the abortion protest incident, Rourke expressed disappointment to the Boston Globe that the violence she had seen affected other past demonstrations had taken place in Providence.
“It’s frustrating when you’re trying to have something calm and it turns into something like that,” she said. “I’ve seen things happen all over the country and I never imagined it would happen here or with me.”
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