Bob McCarty Writes

A 67-year-old St. Charles County man taking part in an anti-socialism rally was punched in the face by an ObamaCare supporter who took offense at the sign he was carrying during a rally at the intersection of Highways K and N in O’Fallon, Mo., 30 miles west of St. Louis on I-70.

The video above provides background about events leading up to and immediately following the punch, including close-up video of yours truly being verbally threatened by a bald man, but does not show the punch itself.  A second video, which I expect to receive this evening, is said to show the most-accurate depiction of events from the moment the first punch was thrown.

The altercation took place at approximately 1:45 p.m. Central and involved a liberal 60-something, red-headed female who, according to Jay Harris, the conservative 67-year-old male involved, struck him with her fist after she became enraged over the sign he was carrying.  It’s message, “Forget the Tea Party, Get the Tar and Feathers,” alluded to the feelings many conservatives hold about many members of the Obama Administration and Congress. It’s also historic in that the practice of tarring and feathering people — including crooked politicians — dates back more than 200 years.

Apparently not a student of history, however, Harris’ female attacker interpreted the sign as being directed at her and the three-dozen other public option supporters who marched across the street from some 200 people opposed to ObamaCare, bailouts and other un-Constitutional approaches to governance by liberals now in the White House and on Capitol Hill.

After the woman punched Harris, he said he instinctively grabbed her and pulled her to the ground so as to keep from being struck again.

As soon as an O’Fallon police officer arrived at the scene, the pro-ObamaCare protesters — mostly union members — began hurling accusations and calling names at conservative ralliers.

A court date has been set for Dec. 7 in the O’Fallon Municipal Court.

To read other posts related to the rallies in O’Fallon, click here.

CORRECTION: I’ve been told the sign being carried by Harris was inaccurate, so I corrected it above.

UPDATE 10/31/09 at 8:55 p.m Central: Logistics prevented me from getting the second video this evening.  Will get it tomorrow afternoon and post soon after.

UPDATE 11/01/09 at 5:54 p.m Central: It turns out that a second video, shot by a bystander at the rally for the first time, captured the altercation from a different angle, but does not capture the actual punch thrown at Harris.  Watch it here.

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