Trump Protester Blindsided on Steps of Ohio State Student Union Wants Charges Dropped

COLUMBUS, OH — Tim Adams, a lead organizer with International Socialist Organization-Columbus was addressing a crowd at the bottom of a flight of steps at the Ohio Union when he was unexpectedly tackled by someone running down the steps yelling "YOU IDIOT!"

A video of the assault was captured by the Ohio State University newspaper, The Lantern, and has been shared all over social media since Monday evening.

Adams wasn't hurt and seems willing to forgive the incident, announcing on Tuesday via Facebook that he is seeking to drop the charges of assault filed against the student who tackled him, Shane Michael Stanton.

“It was clear that my assault was not politically motivated in the way that we previously thought, nor was it committed by a Trump supporter," Adams said.

The Columbus, Ohio chapter of the International Socialist Organization posted the following statement on their Facebook page Tuesday afternoon:

Because there were several individual Trump supporters heckling the crowd throughout the night, because of the nature of the statements the man yelled as he tackled Tim, and, given the reports and experiences of violence and threats of violence from right-wing individuals across the country and at OSU, most witnesses reasonably assumed the assailant was a Trump supporter. Initially, with the information available, Tim felt it was important that white nationalists not be further emboldened by this action and decided to pursue criminal charges in the hopes that it might play some role in protecting movement activists from similar or potentially worse harm in the future.

Since last night, however, we have learned that the man, an OSU student, is not a right-wing activist and was himself upset by the Trump election. We have received further information we will not disclose to protect the man’s privacy, but which has made us confident he should not face charges for the action.

Tim and other ISO members are in the process of reaching out to police, prosecutors, and this student’s family and friends to have charges dropped immediately and to ensure his quick release from jail.

Stanton is currently free on bail for assault charges on after his arraignment in Franklin County Municipal Court Tuesday morning.

Image via YouTube screen capture