An Alabama councilman is facing criminal charges after he allegedly attacked a city mayor.
According to ABC affiliate WMBA, the incident took place Monday night following a contentious city council meeting in Tarrant. Local police chief Wendell Major said he was speaking to councilman Tommy Bryant in the city hall parking lot when Mayor Wayman Newton approached them.
“The councilman told me, the mayor wants to see me, I turned around talked to him,” Major told the network. “The two exchanged words, then the next thing I know the councilman struck the mayor.”
Surveillance footage released by the Tarrant Police Department showed the three men standing near a pickup truck for a few minutes before Bryant seemingly struck Newton on the head, prompting the mayor to retreat before falling to his knees. Newton returned to his feet after a few seconds and appeared to exchange more words with Bryant.
“He started attacking me and verbally assaulting me. … He sucker-punched me,’’ Newton told AL.com, saying he couldn’t remember exactly what was said during the altercation. “[Bryant had] been on one all night. He’d made veiled threats against me.”
Local police said Bryant was booked into Jefferson County Jail on a harassment charge. He was released shortly after 11:30 Monday night after posting $1,000 bond.
According to AL.com, Bryant and Newton have had a contentious relationship since 2021, when the latter was elected as the city’s first Black mayor. Bryant was arrested on harassment-related charges that year, after he allegedly shouted expletives and sexually explicit comments at Newton.
Residents also called on Newton to resign last year, after he repeatedly used the n-word during a city council meeting.
“The n-word. The n-word. Let’s get to the n-word,” he said. “Hey. Do we have a house n****r in here? Do we? Hey. Would she please stand up?”
Despite the backlash, the councilman refused to apologize.
“Tommy Bryant is an unapologetic bigot who is a cancer to the City of Tarrant and my administration,’’ Newton said in 2021. “I am confident that the baseless harassment claim he has filed against me will be thrown out.”
