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Florida Rep. Gaetz hit with drink outside town hall event

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was hit with a drink outside a town hall event in Pensacola, Fla. on Saturday as he left the venue.

Video of the incident posted on Twitter shows the Florida congressman leaving the event while flanked on both sides by a crowd of protesters when a drink flies out of the crowd, appearing to strike Gaetz on the right arm.

It was unclear from video of the throw on Twitter whether the drink actually spilled on Gaetz, but the congressman is seen in the video reacting to being struck from behind and turning to point out one of the protesters.{mosads}

A spokesperson for Gaetz told The Hill in an email that protesters who cause violence at Gaetz’ town halls could expect to be prosecuted.

“All people are invited to participate in our #OpenGaetz town hall events regardless of viewpoint. If anyone assaults anyone else, they can expect to be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law to ensure the security of all law-abiding participants. We continue to express our deep gratitude to the brave law enforcement officials who always keep our events and our community safe,” his office said in a statement.

Pensacola police told The Hill that one person, 25-year-old Amanda Kondrat’yev was “quickly detained” at the scene for allegedly throwing the drink, adding that “there was no further incident” at the town hall.