Trump Supporter Charged With Assault After Exhaling On Protesters

STERLING, VA — A Sterling man seen exhaling on two women outside the Trump National Golf Club in Loudoun County has been charged with assault.

Raymond Deskins, 61, was charged with misdemeanor assault after a private citizen obtained a warrant through a county magistrate, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said Sunday.

The incident happened Saturday outside Trump National Golf Club on Lowes Island Boulevard, where President Donald Trump played golf that day. Protesters and supporters often gather outside the club's entrance when he golfs.

Video shared on social media shows Deskins taking a deep breath and then blowing on one of two women after one asked him to move back and pointed out that he was not wearing a mask.

"That's assault," one of the women said.

"I breathed on you," Deskins responded, then exhaled on the other one.

Deskins was wearing a Trump shirt and an inflatable pool tube with Trump's likeness on it around his waist.

In a statement released Sunday, the LSCO said "two separate parties reported they were assaulted during a verbal argument" outside the Trump National Golf Club.

"As the incident was not witnessed by law enforcement and the video did not capture the entire interaction, an investigation was conducted on scene and both parties were advised they could go to a Loudoun County Magistrate and seek a citizen obtained warrant," the LCSO said.

On Sunday afternoon, the LCSO served a warrant obtained by a citizen through a county magistrate. Deskins was arrested and charged with simple assault and released on a summons, the sheriff's office said.

Several members of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors sent a letter to law enforcement authorities Sunday asking for a full investigation. The letter said the two women had been protesting the president outside the golf club.

"A man without a mask, with a 'Trump blowup toy' attached to his waist, purposefully and forcefully coughed on two women who were protesting the President," the board members said in their letter to Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman and Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney Buta Biberaj. "The two women were both wearing masks and had not approached the man. We are in a hundred-year, highly contagious, worldwide pandemic of a deadly virus that has killed more than 250,000 Americans. ... Willfully coughing in someone's face is clearly dangerous."

The LCSO then responded to the incident by instructing the women and any supporters of Trump at the site of the incident to seek a citizen obtained warrant.

"I appreciate the quick and appropriate response from @LoudounSheriff," Loudoun County Chair Phyllis Randall wrote on Twitter in response to the statement issued by LCSO on Sunday afternoon.

Kathy Beynette told News4 that she and another woman were protesting Trump outside the club golf on Saturday. Across the street, a group of Trump supporters had gathered.

"Then, quite out of nowhere, the guy came over from across the street, came charging across the street," Beynette said. "He just proceeded to assault us by taking a deep breath and doing a very powerful exhalation on both of us."

Aside from the charge filed against Deskins, an LCSO spokesman said Monday he is not aware of any other charges associated with the case.