Political Bumper Sticker Brawl Ends in Arrest
An argument over a bumper sticker insulting President Barack Obama ended with one man on the ground and a gun pointed at the back of his head.
The man holding the gun, Chris Williams, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and false imprisonment, according to police records.
The argument, in the parking lot of an Albuquerque restaurant on Juan Tabo, started Friday after Edward Rodriguez noticed a bumper sticker on Williams’ Ford F-150 reading “One Big Ass Mistake America,” according to a criminal complaint. The first letter of each word spell out “Obama.”
Rodriguez, a veteran, asked Williams if he
was also a veteran. When Williams said he was, Rodriguez told him it was “not right to speak poorly of the American president,” in reference to the bumper sticker, the complaint said.
Williams told police that Rodriguez said, “People like you should be shot” and began pushing him in a rude and angry manner, the complaint said.
Williams, according to the complaint, told Rodriguez to mind his own business, placing his hand in his pocket and telling Rodriguez, “I could shoot you right now.” Williams drew a .380 pistol from his pocket, forced Rodriguez to the ground and held the gun to the back of Rodriguez’s head, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, Williams told police, “I feared for my life,” and that he was using the gun to detain Rodriguez until police arrived.
Also in Williams’ possession were four knives, three in his pockets and one around his neck on a necklace. The complaint said police did not find any weapons on Rodriguez.