Florida man arrested after allegedly hitting woman in the face with a megaphone, drawing gun at anti-Israel rally

An anti-Israel demonstrator was taken into custody following an altercation with a counter-protestor at an anti-Israel rally in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday when he allegedly hit a woman in the face with a megaphone. 

Shadi Abu Sammour, the man in involved in the incident, was subsequently charged with robbery, and had assault tacked on as a result of the nature of the alleged crime. 

According to First Coast News, the incident took place at around 5 p.m. during a protest. It took place on the 1600 block of Riverside Ave in the city's Five Points neighborhood. 

Shortly after demonstrators began making their way down the street, the suspect got into an altercation with a female pro-Israel counter-protestor who was carrying a megaphone. He allegedly grabbed the amplification device, hit her in the face with it, before proceeding to toss it into the nearby St. Johns River. He then drew his firearm, according to the report.  

Sammour was promptly arrested by an officer who had been keeping tabs on the protest and taken into custody. Once he had been removed from the scene, the event continued. 

"Jacksonville Sheriff's Office supports people's First Amendment rights to freedom of speech," Sgt. Karen Dukes told reports. "We want protestors and counter-protestors to be able to peacefully speak their mind and that's part of the great country that we live in and the freedom that we get to have. The issue is when– you can't break laws." 

Dukes explained that assault was "actually part of the robbery charge," pointing out that "robbery is stealing something by using force, so that's an element of it." 

According to Sammour's social media profile, he from Jordan and has made multiple anti-Israel posts.