“A Gilpin man is facing multiple misdemeanor charges in connection with the assault of a man during his one-man political protest in Allegheny Township. Michael Robert Atwood, 38, has been charged by Allegheny Township police with misdemeanor charges of simple assault and related charges for incidents that unfolded at a grassy intersection along Route 356. The location of the incident is a triangle-shaped median in between Route 356 and South Leechburg Hill Road that’s owned by PennDOT. Retired social worker Frank Ashbaugh, 69, of Allegheny Township, said he’s been protesting various social and political issues without incident for almost a decade from the same triangle area, across from Stanford Home Center” the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

“Atwood is accused of attacking Ashbaugh on July 1 as he sat in a lawn chair in the grassy area amid his protest signs. Ashbaugh said he was holding a ‘Trump Is A Loser And A Cheat’ sign when the incident occurred. ‘This guy hit me from behind and I never saw him coming,’ Ashbaugh said of the afternoon attack. Atwood struck Ashbaugh with Ashbaugh’s protest signs, according to the criminal complaint… Other charges that Atwood faces are theft, criminal mischief, and causing damage to property. ‘I think it was premeditated because he parked far away in the Stanford lot and had gloves on when he attacked me,’ Ashbaugh said. In a voice mail left on a Trib reporter’s phone, a man who identified himself as Atwood said he had ‘recently reached out to Mr. Ashbaugh.’ The message said that Atwood ‘agreed to pay for the camera that was accidentally broke’ and that Ashbaugh agreed to drop the charges. But Ashbaugh said he didn’t agree to anything. He said a man who identified himself as a friend of Atwood’s showed up at his door and asked him to drop the charges, and he declined. No agreement was made concerning Ashbaugh’s camera, either.”