An Illinois man was arrested for punching a judge at a polling place on Sunday, two days before the U.S. presidential election, authorities said.
The man, identified as 24-year-old Daniel Schmidt, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a victim over the age of 60, two counts of aggravated assault in a public place, five misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, and one count of disorderly conduct. He was indicted. .
His lawsuit follows numerous attacks and threats of violence against the voting process, which extremism experts say are often aimed at creating fear and distrust of voting.
Election officials across the country insist voting is safe and voters should not be deterred from voting in Tuesday’s presidential election.
In Schmidt’s case, police said they responded to a town hall in Orland Park, Illinois, after receiving a report of a man causing a disturbance in the voting line.
Officers arrested Schmidt after they learned he had entered the building and was suspected of trying to cut in front of other voters who were waiting in line to vote early.
An election judge at the entrance instructed Schmidt to go to the end of the line and wait his turn. But authorities say Schmidt refused.
At that point, another election judge was called in to assist, and Schmidt was instructed to return to the back of the line, police said.
Police said Schmidt then tried to push away an election judge who blocked his entrance with several other employees.
Schmidt then began yelling profanities and reportedly punched the election judge in the face, knocking off the judge’s glasses. At that point, several other patrons jumped in and restrained Schmidt until police arrived.
Authorities added that Schmidt also resisted Orland Park officials while being arrested.
Mr. Schmidt was held overnight Sunday and transported to Bridgeview Courthouse for a detention hearing Monday morning.
Ahead of this year’s election, election offices across the U.S. have raised concerns about the possibility of violence at polling places, following an increase in threats and harassment against election workers after the 2020 election in which Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. Security measures have been strengthened in preparation for the outbreak. Biden.
Trump is facing Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election.
Many offices also train employees in de-escalation techniques and conduct training against active shooters and other types of attacks.
In the last week alone, the United States has already experienced multiple attacks on the voting process, threats of violence and extremism, including bomb threats, and the burning of ballots.
