Politics
Maxwell Frost punched at Sundance Film Festival after assailant made racial remarks
Park City police arrested the man, and Capitol Police are participating in an investigation of the assault.
A man was arrested after punching U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
The incident occurred at Park City’s High West Saloon on Friday at a party hosted by Creative Artists Agency, a talent agency. Frost confirmed to Florida Politics he was at the event on a personal trip, two years after speaking at the festival.
Variety on Saturday reported that the industry party has been disrupted by an uninvited attendee who engaged in a “racially involved incident” against a person of color at the event. Security detained the individual at the party, and Park City Police arrested him.
Frost later in the day confirmed he was the victim of the attack.
“Last night, I was assaulted by a man at Sundance Festival who told me that (Donald) Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face,” Frost, an Orlando Democrat, posted on X.
“He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off. The individual was arrested and I am okay. Thank you to the venue security and Park City PD for assistance on this incident.”
The Congressman decided to go public as rumors began to swirl that he had been involved in the altercation.
Frost has been an outspoken critic of President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, including frequent appearances on national media outlets. But the Congressman said it remains unclear whether the attacker, whose name has not been released, knew Frost’s identity when he attacked.
The physical encounter happened shortly after the man said racist remarks about Frost, who is half Black and half Cuban, and about a Latina woman in the Congressman’s company.
Frost is an American citizen born in Orlando and the son of an immigrant.
In addition to Park City police, Capitol Police are also investigating the motives behind the attack.