Triggered Mayor Attacks Reporter (Video)

This week, the adult daughter of a newspaper reporter whose work the mayor of Orem, Utah, had publicly condemned, allegedly spit on and struck him, setting up a heated brawl during a city council meeting.

The altercation started during the city council meeting on Tuesday night when Mayor David Young talked about pieces that writer Genelle Pugmire had written about the council and himself in the Daily Herald, the local newspaper. Young brushed these pieces off as “overly ridiculous” and “off the rails.”

A witness provided NBC station KSL of Salt Lake City with a video of the altercation, which showed the moment when 31-year-old Linnea Pugmire addressed Mayor Young and angrily asked, “How dare you?” to show her disagreement. Young shot back, saying, “How dare you? “Get out of my face!” and it’s said that Pugmire spat on him.

Pugmire reportedly charged toward Mayor Young, punching him in the face and flailing at other people as the scene quickly got out of control. Pugmire waved at one point, saying, “Don’t talk about my mother.”

“I’m tired of being pushed around by your mother,” Mayor Young retorted.

Following her arrest, Linnea Pugmire was charged with disorderly conduct, assault, pushing a bodily material, and threatening elected officials by the Orem police. The next day, according to booking records with Utah County, she was freed.

According to the police booking affidavit, Pugmire acknowledged feeling emotionally disturbed due to familial matters. The second victim was not named in the incident report, although it was indicated that they had also been hit and spat on.

Pugmire declined to comment on the incident, and NBC News contacted the Daily Herald to get their take.

Mayor Young addressed the continuous Daily Herald reports concerning him and the council during the council meeting. He conveyed his dissatisfaction with the newspaper’s coverage, underscoring his desire to draw attention to what he saw as factual distortions. He cited a number of publications and headlines that he felt were unduly critical of the council and damaged its reputation.

Mayor Young said in a statement issued following the event that he intended to draw attention to problems with the Daily Herald’s reporting in order to push for a more responsible approach to journalism as well as to foster community cohesion and decency.

The altercation highlights the need to promote positive dialogue in local government and the media, as well as the difficulties surrounding local reporting.

Watch the footage below: