An Indian senate candidate in Massachusetts had a megaphone slammed onto his mouth after calling a man “racist” during a town hall event.
The incident between independent candidate Shiva Ayyadurai and a 74-year-old supporter of his rival, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, took place in Great Barrington, Berkshire County on July 22.
Ayyadurai, who brands himself as the “real Indian,” previously made headlines after calling out Warren as the “fake Indian” in campaign signs.
In a video, Ayyadurai can be seen speaking through a megaphone at a line of Warren supporters across the street.
“We don’t produce enough engineers, we don’t produce enough doctors, but what we do produce is a bunch of scumbag lawyer-lobbyists like Elizabeth Warren,” he said.
A man can then be seen yelling from the other side before coming closer to the Senate candidate.
Ayyadurai repeatedly chants “racist” into his megaphone as the Warren supporter, identified as Paul Solovay, points his finger at him.
Solovay then shoves the bullhorn into Ayyadurai’s lips.
Two Ayyadurai supporters can be seen pinning Solovay to the ground as a police officer approached.
“That’s racism right there,” Ayyadurai said. “You’re the racist. Racist. That’s what you got here.”
“That’s liberal fascists, you don’t know what racism is, look at you. You’ve never experienced it…This is how these white privilege, white supremacists react,” he added as police took Solovay away.
Ayyadurai, who claims to be the inventor of email, initially filed as a Republican candidate for the November 2018 election before going independent. He sustained abrasions and swelling and went to the hospital later.
On the other hand, Solovay pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery and disorderly conduct the next day. He has since been released.
But Ayyadurai is determined to make an example of Solovay, with the first pretrial hearing scheduled on Aug. 16.
“We’re going after him hard,” he told The Berkshire Eagle. “We’re going to make an example of him. I’m a fighter.”
“It’s a violation of free speech. That’s a symbol of what could happen to anyone.”
