Mayor Johnson was the host of the fundraiser.
Advertisement
The incident occurred at a benefits dinner held at Sacramento Charter High School. Johnson then reportedly retaliated, tackling Thompson and punching him several times in the face.
During a fundraiser event at a Sacramento high school Wednesday night, a man approached the former National Basketball Association star and slammed a cream pie to his face, a mayoral spokeswoman said.
Sources in attendance reported that, during the meal, a protester allegedly ran at the mayor and threw a store-bought pie in his face. Johnson seemed to have enough of Thompson Wednesday night, however, or perhaps he was just mad the protester made him ruin his dinner.
While talking to guests at the event, a man reportedly approached Johnson from the side, grabbed him by the arm and then slammed a cream pie into his face. He apologized for the situation and was applauded. Police released a photo of Thompson after he was booked and two cuts and a bruise are visibly seen around his left eye.
Thompson, 32, was arrested shortly after the scuffle.
Johnson, a former National Basketball Association star, was speaking at a dinner for Seeds of HOPE at a charter school in the city when 32-year-old Sean Thompson struck the mayor in the face with a pie, authorities say.
“I felt the pressure to do something that would at least symbolize and embarrass him”, Thompson said.
Johnson, who was not injured, went home afterward to cool off with his family, spokeswoman Crystal Strait said.
Advertisement
Later in the evening, Johnson tweeted that he is “doing fine” and that he is thankful that police were on the scene. His accused assailant, Thompson, was treated for minor injuries. A former activist with the Occupy Sacramento movement, Thompson once turned his back on Johnson during a 2011 city council meeting after speaking. However, as Deadspin reports, questions about the mayor’s alleged inappropriate sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl years ago have recently resurfaced.
