After the Virginia Supreme Court approved new legislative maps this year, two Republican Delegates, Del. Marie March and Del. Wren Williams ended up being paired in the same district and will face off next year in a primary race. Apparently, the contest is heating up a little early.
The allegations.
Recently, Del. March swore out an assault & battery charge against Del. Williams. March claims that, at a fundraiser, the two encountered each other and she alleges that Williams “intentionally pushed/shouldered slammed” into her “in front of a large group of people.”
As we’ve written before, assault and battery is a class I misdemeanor that carries up to a year in jail and a fine of $2,500. As we’ve explained before, assault and battery does not require an injury, and a push or shove may be enough for a conviction.
For his part, Williams denies the charge, stating that he accidentally bumped into March as he was trying to leave the event with his wife, who is two months pregnant:
“Later into the night the event had turned into a party. It was loud, and my wife was ready to go home, so I gathered up her things and we headed for the door. It was very crowded,” Williams said in a phone interview Sunday morning. “I bumped into Marie March, I apologized and kept going.”
Quote from Cardinal News
It appears too that there may be a witness to the incident:
Jody Early, a member of the Carroll County Board of Supervisors, said that he witnessed the incident.
“It was a pretty uneventful event, the program had just concluded when I saw Wren push his way through the crowd and he gave Marie an elbow and pushed her out of the way. It was absolutely deliberate, that’s not becoming of a gentleman,” Early said.
Quote from Cardinal News
While the parties involved in this case are unique (it’s not often that you see one state lawmaker swear out a warrant against another), the allegations themselves for assault and battery are not unusual. We often see assault and battery charges based upon a push or a shove, where there’s no injury.
Indeed, here, March stated, “I’m not hurt, I’m OK, but I’m not going to stand for bullying.”
Are you facing a Virginia Assault & Battery charge?
Reach out to Abrenio Law for your FREE Consultations. We handle Assault and Battery cases throughout Northern Virginia. We can be reached at Ph. 703-570-4180. We look forward to hearing from you. You can also learn about Owner James Abrenio here.