Edward Dillard, a supporter of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, has filed a lawsuit against former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his security team for assault and battery, TMZ reported Saturday.
Mr. Dillard was reportedly assaulted by Mr. Gingrich’s security team outside of a polling center during the Florida Republican presidential primary Tuesday. According to Yahoo! News, one of Mr. Gingrich’s security agents slammed his boot into Mr. Dillard’s bare foot.
Following the alleged assault, Congressman Paul (R-TX) called on Mr. Gingrich’s campaign to apologize for the way that Mr. Dillard was treated. “The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign is requesting an apology and decisive action from Congressman Newt Gingrich and his campaign for abuse the latter organization perpetrated against a Ron Paul supporter,” the Paul campaign wrote in a press release.
“There is simply no excuse for the type of violent, boorish and abusive behavior demonstrated by Mr. Gingrich’s campaign. We hope Mr. Gingrich understands this and takes the actions we recommend,” Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton said.
“In addition, we ask that those Gingrich campaign staff directly involved in the episode be immediately terminated,” Mr. Benton added.
TMZ reports that Mr. Dillard filed his lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Florida Friday.
