Woman Charged With Battery For Throwing Drink At GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz

One of the congressman's 2016 opponents was accused of tossing a drink at him as he left a Florida town hall meeting Saturday.
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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is the latest politician to be “milkshaked” in what has become an international act of protest.

On Saturday, the congressman was leaving a town hall meeting in Pensacola, Florida, when a woman within a group of demonstrators chucked a drink at him.

Based on footage posted on Twitter of the incident outside the Brew Ha Ha restaurant, it appears Gaetz’s right arm was hit, though it is unclear whether the liquid was indeed a milkshake.

According to ABC affiliate WEAR-TV, police suspect 35-year-old Amanda Leigh Kondrat’yev was the assailant, and she has since been charged with battery.

In 2016, Kondrat’yev was one of several challengers vying for the congressional seat now occupied by Gaetz.

In a Twitter post later that day, Gaetz, an ally and defender of President Donald Trump, assured that “it takes more than a drink to slow down our great team.”

“We are always thankful to the brave law enforcement officials who keep everyone safe at our events,” he wrote.

The so-called milkshaking fad began in the U.K. in February when far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who once led the anti-Muslim English Defence League, was hit with two milkshakes in two days while making a failed bid for a seat in the European parliament.

In footage of the second instance, a bystander can be heard shouting, “That’s what you get for being a fascist.”

In May, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage was doused with a Five Guys banana and salted caramel shake at a campaign event in Newcastle.

Days before the incident, police reportedly asked a McDonald’s in Edinburgh, Scotland, to stop selling the drinks over concerns they would be tossed at Farage.

However, Burger King informed its customers in Scotland that it would keep selling mikshakes, adding, “Have fun.”

Ahead of Trump’s U.K. visit, which kicks off Monday, more than 170 people are planning to attend a rally in London’s Trafalgar Square called “Milkshakes Against Trump.” The event was organized by Milkshakes Against Racism, an apparent protest group.

According to the Independent, it is unlikely the demonstrators will be able to reach the president since a security barrier will keep them at a distance.

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