The wife of the sole commissioner in Chattooga County, Georgia, was arrested on Friday, hours after she allegedly dumped a fountain drink on a reporter's head before a budget meeting in an incident one witness called "the most classless act" they had ever seen.
What are the details?
Commissioner Jason Winter was preparing to start the meeting with cameras pointed at him and rolling, when his wife, Abbey Winters, reportedly stormed in the room and poured a soda over the head of AllOnGeorgia.com reporter Casie Bryant.
The outlet reported that "the drink soaked Bryant's hair, clothing, belongings, and equipment."
The act was not caught on video footage from the meeting, but Commissioner Winter can be seen saying, "Oh my God" and nodding his head in apparent approval of his wife's actions after the sound of liquid is heard and a female voice says, "There you go. I'm sick of it."
According to the Summerville Police Department's incident report, several witnesses told police Abbey Winters intentionally poured the drink on Bryant, and that after the alleged assault Mrs. Winters "said something to the effect of the Victim 'deserved it.'"
One of the witnesses, high school teacher Paula Arden, told WTVC-TV the alleged assault was "the most classless act I have ever witnessed in my whole life." She told the outlet that after Mrs. Winters poured the drink on Ms. Bryant, the perpetrator told onlookers, "She deserved it! She deserved that and more!"
Mrs. Winters, after consulting with her attorney, told police she had "accidentally" poured the drink on Bryant "after stumbling/tripping near her." Commissioner Winters also insisted to WZQZ-FM that his wife accidently spilled the drink, but added that Ms. Bryant "deserved what happened to her."
Mrs. Winters, 35, turned herself in later that day and was charged with disorderly conduct and simple battery.
Anything else?
According to police, none of the witnesses they spoke with noticed Ms. Bryant do anything ahead of the drink-pouring to provoke Mrs. Winters.
On the video from the meeting, people can be heard arguing over whether or not Ms. Bryant brought the attack "on herself."
"By saying that he went to France?" one person asks, to which another replies, "Oh, yes, b*tch."
The Washington Post reported that in a Facebook post the night before the meeting, Ms. Bryant wrote of Commissioner Winters, "Fresh off his trip to Paris, he's ready to talk about the budget to the PUBLIC." There have reportedly been rumors circulating on social media surrounding the commissioner's trip.
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