Man arrested after punching canvasser at ‘recall Gov. Brown’ booth, Oregon police say

A group of people was standing at a booth on Highway 212 in Happy Valley, Oregon, collecting signatures to call for a recall of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Aug. 22, according to KOIN.

Around 2 p.m., a man approached and began confronting a woman at the booth, KGW reported. A man working the booth intervened and the suspect started to push and punch the canvasser, according to KGW.

“I yelled at him, ‘Hey, leave her alone,’ and his attention turned from her to me,” Harlan Wright told KGW. “And I was kind of caught off guard, but it is what it is and I’d do it again.”

After knocking Wright to the ground, the suspect walked away, KATU reported. Clackamas County deputies found the suspect, identified as Joshua Thompson, 39, of Damascus, and arrested him, according to KATU.

Wright’s nose was broken and he needed seven stitches in his chin and seven in the back of his head as a result of the attack, KGW reported.

Thompson reportedly “confronted the group because, in his opinion, they should be working to recall (President Donald) Trump and not Gov. Brown,” KOIN reported. Thompson faces assault and disorderly conduct charges, according to KOIN.

This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 10:51 AM.