NEWPORT – Police arrested a 41-year-old Klamath Falls man Saturday on accusations he stopped his truck and then assaulted a 75-year-old man during an anti-Trump protest in front of Newport City Hall.
Jacob Busch is in the Lincoln County jail on charges of fourth-degree assault, harassment and two counts of disorderly conduct after the incident at about 1:11 p.m. Saturday. Busch, who is being held on $75,000 bail, received a court-appointed attorney and pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Monday. His next appearance is July 7.
A news release from the Newport Police Department and a probable cause affidavit filed Monday in Lincoln County circuit court said Busch and his wife, Kimberly Dirrett were driving by a group of protesting veterans Saturday when the victim said Busch flipped them off.
According to the affidavit by Officer Jerimiah Mangum, the victim said Dirret got out of their truck and began arguing with another protester. Busch also got out of the truck, ran over to the protesters and used his chest to push the victim to the ground. The man fell backwards, hit his head against the concrete, suffered a cut to the back of his head, and was taken to Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital for treatment.
The suspects fled, leading to searches by Newport police, Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies, Oregon State Police troopers, and Toledo Police Department officers.
At about 1:45 p.m., a sheriff’s deputy located Busch’s truck in Waldport. Police arrested Busch and released Dirret without charges.
Police said they interviewed several witnesses and reviewed a cell phone video of the incident.
Mangum said in his affidavit that Busch told him that his wife was a combat veteran and did not like the signs that protesters displayed and got out of the truck to confront them.
“He stated he did not intend to knock the male over and that he was simply trying to get in between the protesters and his wife,” Mangum said in the affidavit. “I did not observe that to be consistent with security footage taken from the Newport City Hall and advised him that the male had a laceration on the back of his head and that he was being treated at the hospital.”
According to Oregon court records, Busch has a criminal record that includes burglary, driving with a suspended license, and assault. In 2021, he was sentenced in Linn County to two years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Police said the incident remains under investigation and asked that anyone with information to contact Mangum at 541-574-3348, the department’s tip line at 541-574-5455, Text-a-Tip at 541-270-1856 or send an email to tipline@newportpolice.net.
- Shayla Escudero/Lincoln Chronicle
Partisan politics has us right where they want us – believing our neighbors are the problem instead of the billionaire class giving themselves corporate welfare every day.
Say it again til this paradigm sinks in. Thank you for speaking
Was the assaulted Vietnam Vet a “Trump protester” or a “Pro-Democracy Supporter”? Words matter.
The headline simplifies the motivations behind the Newport City Hall protest rallies, which have been peaceful protests focused on democracy—until a 70-year-old+ protester holding a Ukrainian flag in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia was attacked and hospitalized by a middle-aged couple from Klamath Falls.
I attend these rallies with signs like “I Support Our Federal Workers” and “I Support Science,” often holding an upside-down American flag to signify my belief that our democracy is in distress. I did not vote for this president, who is a gleefully willing tool of the powerful oligarchy that operates above/behind/outside of the law that put him in office.
So, if I am assaulted at a City Hall rally, kindly refer to me as a Pro-Democracy supporter. Thanks!
Monica, as a fellow pro Democracy supporter I am glad to report that the November election is an example of our Democracy at work and healthy. The majority of voters, including myself, voted for our current President and that is the definition of democracy.