MOUNT PLEASANT, SC (WCSC) - A judge has refused to bring charges in the case of a Post and Courier newspaper reporter who alleged assault at the election night event for First District Congressional Candidate Katie Arrington.
Supplemental reports released Monday stated that a judge refused to sign a courtesy summons, which would have ordered any suspect to appear in court. The judge didn’t see just cause to sign the summons, therefore closing the case.
Caitlin Byrd, a political reporter for the paper, told police she was assaulted at Arrington’s election night party at the Staybridge Suites in Mount Pleasant.
Byrd was covering the event when a prayer started on the stage and she was taking notes on a notepad. Someone then came up behind her, “pinched” her shoulder and stated, “have some respect” and then let go, according to the incident report Byrd filed at Mount Pleasant police headquarters the day after the event.
The person then walked back to her seat halfway across the room, the report stated. Byrd told police the pinch was painful and shocking.
Earlier in the night, the MC for the event had gotten on stage at the event and made comments about “Fake News” and specifically about the Post and Courier’s coverage “against” Arrington.
In a tweet that night, Byrd quoted the MC as saying, “Do we have any Post and Courier people in the room? Well despite your best efforts, it looks like Katie Arrington won the Isle of Palms tonight...CNN isn’t the only place where you can read fake news."
Byrd told police she felt the pinch wasn’t about not paying attention to the prayer as much as it was brought on by the agitation from the event MC concerning how the Post and Courier had covered Arrington.
The officer stated in the report that Byrd knew the name of the person who pinched her and was going to contact that person to speak with them about the incident.
Copyright 2018 WCSC. All rights reserved.