Surveillance video caught the moment Greg Fischer — the Democratic mayor of Louisville, Kentucky — was punched in the face and knocked to the ground at a Juneteenth event Saturday in the city’s downtown area. Police are still looking for the suspect.
Here’s the clip:
What are the details?
According to WLKY-TV — which characterized the Fourth Street Live! event where Fischer was punched as a “Juneteenth celebration” — police said the blow caught the mayor in the face while he was talking to someone in the crowd.
Video shows the punch knocking Fischer to the ground.
WAVE-TV said an individual who appeared to be part of Fischer’s security team briefly followed the suspect after the punch and then appeared to return to Fischer.
Emergency medical services evaluated the mayor and determined he didn’t need medical treatment, WLKY reported.
The mayor’s office didn’t address how the suspect got past security and escaped, WLKY added.
“While it’s not appropriate to comment on specifics of that [security] detail, it is always being evaluated and adjusted as needed,” Jessica Wethington, the mayor’s director of communications, told WLKY. “There have been no changes made to the mayor’s events.”
Police are still looking for the suspect, WKLY said, adding that Louisville Metro Police Department released photos of the suspect:
Greg Gitschier — a former Secret Service agent and former bodyguard of the mayor — told WHAS-TV that “it’s becoming an upside-down world because lines that were never crossed so much in the past now seem to no longer matter.”
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer addresses punch, no arrests made still
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‘Just peacefully protesting, nothing to see here’
Many commenters unleashed mockery on Louisville police’s Facebook post about the punch, with most of the derision directed toward Fischer, implying that the mayor’s policies led to the physical attack on him.
“Karma. What you allow will continue. You have allowed crime to run unabashed. It will continue,” one commenter wrote.
“Just peacefully protesting, nothing to see here,” another commenter quipped.
Others told city police that Fischer wants them to “stand down” and not go after the suspect — presumably a reference to the claim from at least 100 officers that Fischer wanted them to “stand down” amid violent 2020 protests. The officers also wanted Fischer to resign, but the mayor denied he gave a “stand down” directive.
In addition, hundreds of officers were caught on video walking out on Fischer when he arrived to address them at an early June 2020 roll call. The officers reportedly didn’t feel supported by the mayor amid violence and looting. In September 2020 the city council declared it had “no confidence” in Fischer.
Other commenters lauded the suspect who punched Fischer, saying the suspect deserves a “medal” for the blow that knocked the mayor off his feet.
“Honestly, it couldn’t have happened to a finer man,” one commenter said of Fischer, while another said “maybe he should have taken care of crime in Louisville.”