A civil assault lawsuit has been filed against U.S. Representative Byron Donalds, a leading Republican candidate for Florida governor, over a 2022 confrontation at a Naples, Florida, grocery store.
Details of the Confrontation
The lawsuit, filed by Kelly Mason, a member of the Collier County School Board, alleges that Donalds deliberately confronted her and aggressively cornered her while her husband and two young children were present. Mason claims Donalds threatened that he could ‘crush’ or ‘finish’ her.
Video footage from the interaction shows Donalds shouting at Mason as she walks away from him. In the recording, Donalds states, Tell the truth…End it Kelly… Stop the lawsuits. The dispute is tied to a prior legal conflict between Mason and Erika Donalds, a charter school executive married to the congressman.
Representatives for Donalds’ gubernatorial campaign rejected the claims made in the new filing, asserting that the lawsuit is timed specifically to disrupt the upcoming primary election. Florida voters will head to the polls for the primary election on August 18.
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
