Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe Physically Attacked By Unidentified Man At Public Event

Mayor Lamar Thorpe of Antioch, a city in California, was physically attacked at a public event Tuesday.

The incident took place when Mayor Thorpe was attending a meet-and-greet event at the Antioch Chamber of Commerce. An unidentified man approached him and punched him in his upper torso, the mayor said in a statement to NBC.

Law enforcement officials launched an investigation into the matter, the outlet added. However, no arrests were made so far.

"Violence has absolutely no place in the public discourse and will never be tolerated," Thorpe added in his statement. "My hope is that this individual is arrested and prosecuted."

Thorpe said the man walked towards him "in an aggressive manner." While the mayor asked the suspect to leave, the latter punched him in the torso. The attacker attempted to strike another blow but failed when "bystanders intervened to help," Thorpe added.

Antioch District 1 Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker, who witnessed the incident, said the attacker shoved the mayor really hard under his neck.

"He [the attacker] raised up his hand and just shoved the mayor really hard under his neck, and then before we could react, me and the other lady who was there, the gentleman raised his hand again and the mayor grabbed his wrist," she told ABC News.

Torres-Walker alleged the incident had "undertones of racism," according to reports.

Daniel Sohn, Antioch Chamber of Commerce CEO, confirmed the attack on the mayor, adding that the assailant was not a guest at the event.

"When we did a ticket name check, [the person] was not in attendance at the chamber luncheon, nor are they chamber members," Sohn said, as quoted by East Bay Times.

Thorpe had been targeted by a string of controversies recently. He was the subject of a 2020 recall campaign that was based on an alleged DUI charge to which he pleaded not guilty.

Earlier this month, an independent probe concluded claims of sexual harassment connected to Thorpe were substantiated, as a result of which he faced several calls for resignation, according to EastCountyToday.

Previously, Thorpe was on the Antioch City Council where he served as Mayor Pro-Tem between 2016 and 2018, according to his campaign website.