Updated: Man Involved in Altercation With Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe Says “No Punches Thrown”

At around 2:30 pm Tuesday, Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe was allegedly involved in an altercation with an Antioch resident after a Chamber of Commerce event in the City of Antioch.

The verbal altercation occurred in the parking lot of the Lone Tree Golf Course and Event Center after the Antioch Chamber of Commerce hosted its 2022 State of the Business. The incident prompted a call to Antioch Police Department at 2:44 pm.

Early reports by KRON4 stated the mayor of Antioch was punched in the chest after information was released by Antioch Public Information Officer Rolando Bonilla.

Thorpe released the following statement to KRON4:

“I can confirm that the reports of my being punched at an event today are true. After giving a speech at a luncheon hosted by the Antioch Chamber of Commerce, I was aggressively approached by an older white male in his late 50’s. When it became clear that he was seeking a confrontation, I asked him to leave. As I attempted to walk away, the man punched me in the chest and was attempting to punch me a second time, but was not able to land his blow, as bystanders intervened to help me. Although shaken up, I am doing well. Violence has absolutely no place in the public discourse and will never be tolerated. My hope is that this individual is arrested and prosecuted. I would like to thank the bystanders who intervened for putting their own safety at risk to help me. I will never forget their kindness and support. I will be at tonight’s regularly scheduled meeting of the Antioch City Council”

However, multiple witnesses have confirmed that no punches were thrown during the heated verbal exchange with one stating it could have been observed as a “hard push” after the mayor got in the males face yelling at him. Another witness said no push even occurred but both men were in each others faces.

According to the man involved in the exchange with Mayor Thorpe, who did not want to be identified at this time, he admitted he heckled the mayor stating “nice to see you coming out of hiding”–referring to the mayor not being at two recent council meetings due to his sexual harassment settlement.

That is when the mayor approached the man within inches of his face. That is when the male put up an open hand against the mayors chest to get the mayor to stop coming into his “personal space” but was adamant that no punches were ever thrown.

At that point, Antioch City Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker and Antioch School Board Candidate Dominique King separated the mayor and the man in an attempt to defuse the situation–the man said they both attempted to play peacemaker.

The man called it nothing more than a verbal altercation but again stated “no punches were ever thrown” and didn’t think much of it after he left.

The Antioch Police Department has confirmed they responded to an altercation but did not elaborate further and are currently investigating the incident. No other information has been released.

Editor’s Note

The man involved in the altercation was not in attendance of the Chamber Event, instead, he was at the golf course to hanging flyers for an upcoming non-profit event. The altercation occurred after the Chamber of Commerce event.

Also, its being reported that this was an unknown individual who fled. Wrong, the mayor is aware of this individual as they have exchanged several words and difference of opinions over the past few years.

UPDATE – Tamisha Torres-Walker Says No Punches Thrown

These prepared comments came in the final few minutes of the Antioch City Council Meeting.

“I took the time to write something down and I am going to read it as I wrote it because I think its very important not to get caught up. My shoulder hurts right now because today I had to step in between the Mayor of Antioch Lamar Thorpe, the man, and another gentlemen that intentionally showed up to a meeting, a public meeting, to accost him and shove him aggressively in the chest and attempt to punch him” stated Torres-Walker. “As the struggle ensued, three women, three women had to jump in the middle and break it up and deescalate.”

She continued stating the man was stating quotes from the comment sections of Antioch Herald or EastCountyToday while being aggressive.

“As the mayor said I am done, this conversation is over, it was clear that it was not over. This guy was ready to get physical and even when we broke it up, three women, struggling to break up this altercation, this guy would not stop and continue to aggressively pursue the Mayor of Antioch, the man, Lamar Thorpe. “Whether we agree with anybody’s behavior or what they have done, nobody deserves to be physically assaulted by anybody. And the fact that three women had to stand in the middle to break it up because everybody is so reckless on their comments and their opinions and cant foreshadow that harm can actually happen to an individual in this city as a result is disgusting.”