Utah News Dispatch
Police: Man accused of assaulting Fla. congressman at Sundance told him ‘we are going to deport you’
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., speaks at the Florida Capitol on Jan. 24, 2024. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix)
The assault of a Florida congressman at a Sundance party is being investigated as a possible hate crime after police say a man sneaked in, made racially charged remarks, and punched the lawmaker in the face.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said in a social media post that the man who assaulted him late Friday “told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face. He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off.”
In a statement, the Sundance Film Festival condemned the assault — which happened at a non-Festival-affiliated event — and said it abhors “any form of violence, harassment, and hate speech.”
“The safety and security of our festival attendees is always our chief concern, and our thoughts are with Congressman Frost and his continued well-being. We encourage anyone with additional information on this matter to contact the Park City Police Department,” the statement said.
According to a police affidavit, Christian Joel Young, 28, had approached Frost and a friend at a private party at High West Distillery in Park City, Utah, and began “making weird conversations and comments referring to their race.” When they went to step away, the affidavit says, Young put his arms around their necks like he was hugging them and pulled them in close, saying “we are going to deport you and your kind.”
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Shocked, the two pushed Young away, who then yelled a racial slur and punched Frost in the face before running into the crowd, the affidavit says.
The affidavit says Young then approached a woman and her friend by the bar, but when the two stopped engaging with him as the conversation became “inappropriate and racially charged,” Young grabbed her shoulder, pushed her against the bar and yelled “You are the kind we are going to deport. You’re being deported.”
A man who witnessed the encounter caught Young and held him until event security arrived. Security members told police Young had been denied entry to the bar, then was seen jumping a fence set up for the private event. When security approached, he jumped back out and ran away. Security members didn’t know how he sneaked back in.
Police who questioned Young said he told them he didn’t remember what happened and that he didn’t know his name, but when officers called him by his name he responded, “indicating his answers were intentionally evasive and not due to impairment,” according to the affidavit. Staff at the bar told police Young had ordered only two drinks before they stopped serving him due to erratic behavior.
Police also confiscated a Sundance Film Festival administrative access pass in someone else’s name from Young.
Young was booked into Summit County Jail under investigation of assaulting a government official and assault of the woman at the party, with both “racially charged” incidents being screened for a hate crime enhancement, according to the affidavit. Young is also being investigated for aggravated burglary for allegedly entering the bar unlawfully.
An attorney for Young was not listed. He is being held without an option to post bail.
