A man has been charged with misdemeanor assault after he was seen forcefully exhaling on two women outside of President Donald Trump‘s golf course in Virginia.
In video footage now widely shared on social media, Raymond Deskins, 61, intentionally blows air on the unidentified women when one asks him to get away and points out that he’s not wearing a mask.
“That’s assault” one of the women says afterwards.
“I breathed on you,” Deskins replies.
Virginia mandates masks be worn in certain areas to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but they are not required outdoors.
The altercation occurred Saturday outside of Trump National Golf Club in Loudoun County, Va., where the president was playing. Protestors and supporters regularly gather outside the club’s entrance when he plays.
Trump supporter forcefully exhaling without a mask on a protester outside the Trump National Golf Club, Nov. 21, 2020 pic.twitter.com/Bq2mMH1At0
— Douglas Christian (@DougChristianDC) November 21, 2020
Deskins was seen wearing a pro-Trump shirt and inflatable pool tube around his waist. In a letter, several members of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors signed and sent to law enforcement Sunday, the two women were described as protesting the president at the time of the incident.
The letter, written by Chair-at-Large Phyllis Randall, also asked for a full investigation.
“We are in a hundred-year, highly contagious, worldwide pandemic of a deadly virus that has killed more than 250,000 Americans,” Randall wrote. “Not wearing [a mask] and not social distancing, is clearly irresponsible. Willfully coughing in someone’s face is clearly dangerous.”
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said the altercation was investigated at the scene — but was “not witnessed by law enforcement and the video did not capture the entire interaction.” The sheriff’s office advised both parties that they could seek a citizen obtained warrant through a county magistrate.
Deskins was charged with misdemeanor assault Sunday after such a warrant was obtained.
FOX 5 DC identified one of the women as Kathy Beynette. Beynette told the station that “the incident itself came so out of nowhere that it was shocking,” adding that Deskins approached them without prior conversation.
