An Alabama councilor who a colleague once called a “house n*****” has been arrested for punching a black mayor in the face and hurling racist remarks during a brawl in a parking lot.
Councilor Thomas Bryant, 78, was caught on security footage Monday night punching Mayor Wayman Newton in the face in front of a crowd of people after a scheduled council meeting.
Tarrant Police Chief Wendell Major witnessed the attack and placed Bryant under arrest and he was originally charged with harassment, which has now been upgraded to third-degree assault.
Newton claimed that Bryant “started attacking me and attacking me verbally.”
“We exchanged words and then he came up to me. He punched me,” Newton said AL.com. Newton said his face is now “sore” from the attack and claimed the councilor made “disguised threats” against him during the meeting.
Bryant was arrested and placed in the Jefferson County Jail around 10 p.m. and an hour and a half later he was released on $1,000 bail.
Surveillance footage shows the two men standing outside a black truck when Bryant suddenly steps up to the mayor and throws a right hook.
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While the pair were talking, Bryant (right) suddenly punched the mayor, who fell to the ground
He stumbled back several steps because he fell while another person stopped Bryant
Bryant was arrested (pictured) and originally charged with harassment, which has since been upgraded to third-degree assault
You can see Newton tripping several steps after the blow before starting to jump around while someone else stopped Bryant.
Several others began to crowd around the two men and eventually the councilors can be seen handcuffed and escorted away from the group.
“I turned to have the mayor come to me after I had a talk with the alderman,” the chief said ABC 3340 News. ‘The alderman said to me: ‘The mayor wants to see me’, I turned and spoke to him. The two exchanged words and the next thing I know, the alderman hit the mayor.’
The dispute between politicians is said to have arisen from a heated debate at City Hall, where Bryant challenged Newton to resign. TMZ reported.
The pair have reportedly disagreed on several occasions and most recently over the recovery of fire chief Jason Rickels, who allegedly pulled a gun on a black relationship at his home.
Councilor Thomas Bryant, 77, (pictured) was caught on security footage punching Mayor Wayman Newton in the face in front of a crowd of people Monday night after a scheduled council meeting
The fight reportedly came after the two got into a heated argument at the meeting where Bryant asked Newton (pictured) to resign
Rickels was charged but later withdrawn. Newton does not support the recovery.
While talking about it, Newton reportedly told Bryant that he disrespected him after the councilor called a city clerk a “pig.” Bryant denies the claim, despite several others supporting the mayor’s claims.
“Would you mind sorting out your story and stop twisting the stories?” he reportedly said during the meeting.
‘I’ll tell you something. Let’s do something, boys and girls,” Bryant continued. “Let’s have a resolution… You sign to resign as mayor of the city of Tarrant, Alabama, and we’ll have the whole council here and if the whole council votes not to resign – oh, how good – but see if the whole council accepts your resignation.’
It is not the first time Bryant has been accused of racism. Last year, he publicly referred to councilor Veronica Freeman as a “house lad” during the meeting.
Video of the meeting shows Bryant standing up and saying, “Do we have a houseboy here?” He was allegedly referring to the black female councilor, Veronica Freeman.
In July 2021, the veteran councilor told local news channels that he would not say sorry and that his words had been taken out of context.
Bryant claimed he was just repeating what he had heard Newton say about Freeman.
Bryant was caught calling Counsel Veronica Freeman a “house n*****” last year, but he later said he was only saying what he heard Newton say. Newton denied ever calling Freeman a name
In July 2021 (pictured), the municipality asked: ‘Do we have a house here n*****?’ about Freeman
He also claimed that he and Freeman were allies and had worked together in recent months to block proposals that Newton had put forward.
‘I did what had to be done. It had to be brought to light what kind of person the mayor is,” Bryant said WVTM-TV said at the time.
Newton – a black Republican – denied ever using the slur against Freeman.
“They’re trying to expose me for saying something I didn’t say,” Newton said AL.com at the time. “That was all a political stunt they didn’t do very well.”
He added: ‘Veronica [Freeman] and Tommy [Bryant]in fact, they have antagonized me since I took office.
“I never used that phrase to talk about her,” Newton said. “Ask them to make the video. They record everything. They should have their own recording. They want me out. He [Bryant] wants to be mayor.’
Bryant’s wife, Nancy Mahler Bryant, (pictured together) said she feared reprisals after the incident. She said her husband was wearing a bulletproof vest when he left the house and that he gave her a gun in case someone tried to break into their house
His wife, Nancy Mahler Bryant, later revealed that he started wearing a bulletproof vest after the incident and said she was afraid her husband would be killed.
She said at the time that her husband was wearing a bulletproof vest when he left the house and that he had given her a gun in case someone tried to break into their house.
Nancy said that she and her 92-year-old mother, who lives with him, do not leave the house and that they keep the blinds closed all day.
She also said she was afraid someone would try to shoot if they saw her husband in the house.
Bryant’s wife said they received more than 400 threatening phone calls at their home after the video surfaced last year.
Nancy said the callers, who come from all over the country, called them racist and made threats against them.
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