2 arrested for attacking senator during Wisconsin protests
Protesters block traffic at an intersection an intersection near Capitol Square in Madison, Wis. Tuesday, June 23, 2020.[Emily Hamer/Wisconsin State Journal via AP]
Two women have been arrested for attacking a Wisconsin state senator during a chaotic night of violence near the state Capitol last month.
The women, ages 26 and 33, turned themselves in Monday and were taken to the Dane County Jail, Madison police said.
Democratic Sen. Tim Carpenter was beaten after taking cellphone video of protesters the night of June 23. His phone and glasses were taken and later returned.
Crowds tear down statues, attack Wisconsin state senator
Violence broke out as a group of 200 to 300 people protested the arrest of a Black man who shouted at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. Protesters toppled two statues outside the state Capitol and threw a Molotov cocktail into a government building.
Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said the two Madison women were being held on tentative charges of substantial battery and robbery with use of force, the State Journal reported.
Paramedics treated Carpenter, but he decided against going to the hospital.