Police: Knife-Wielding Man Farzad Fazeli Attacked Republican Candidate While on Anti-Trump Rant

Sheriff’s deputies arrested 35-year-old Farzad Fazeli Sunday in the Oakland, California, suburb of Castro Valley after he allegedly attacked a Republican congressional candidate while making “disparaging” and “profanity-laced” remarks about President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Rudy Peters, the Republican nominee for California’s heavily Democratic 15th Congressional District, set up a booth at this weekend’s Castro Valley Fall Festival. According to an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office press release published Tuesday, Fazeli “approached” Peters “in an aggressive manner and made disparaging remarks” at around 3:45 that afternoon. A later report by a local CBS affiliate indicates witnesses said Fazeli’s rant was “profanity-laced.”

Fazeli then, according to the sheriff’s office, produced an illegal switchblade and tried to stab Peters. The knife failed to open and, after a struggle with the candidate, Fazeli fled, only to be arrested shortly thereafter on charges of “felony assault, criminal threats, brandishing a weapon and possession of a switchblade knife.”

“Deputies happened to be there for the festival,” an Alameda County Sheriff’s representative told Breitbart News. “As soon as the guy fled, we learned about the crime, and we pursued him, and we caught him a short time later. He had the knife on his person.”

Peters, a Navy veteran running against incumbent Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on a “MAGA” and “America First” platform, was apparently not seriously hurt in the assault.

Neither the sheriff’s office nor either of the campaigns involved commented on the assault for over two days, and no major media reports appeared in that time. The Alameda County Sheriff’s representative told Breitbart News the two-day delay in reporting on an armed assault on a congressional candidate was unrelated to any political aspect of the case. “We are non-political,” he said.

The office’s Twitter account later retweeted the Democratic incumbent’s condemnation of political violence:

On Sunday, my opponent @PetersCongress was attacked at his campaign booth in Castro Valley. I’m glad to hear Mr. Peters is okay. But it’s NEVER okay to use violence to settle political disagreements (or any disagreement). Fortunately, @ACSOSheriffs arrested the suspect.

— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) September 11, 2018

Alameda County, home to Oakland and Berkeley, is one of the most liberal counties in the United States and one of very first so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions in the United States. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has recently come under fire for taking the policy of non-cooperation with federal immigration enforcement actions to the next level, actively undermining U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations by releasing the confidential information about impending raids given to her by virtue of her office.