Arlington man allegedly punched 77-year-old ‘No Kings’ protester

Local News

Peter Afouxenides, 61, pleaded not guilty in Barnstable District Court on Monday to one charge of  assault and battery on a person 60 years or older/disabled person.

An Arlington man is charged with assault after he allegedly attacked a 77-year-old man who was participating in a No Kings protest in Hyannis on Saturday. 

“The violence was completely one sided as the rest of the event was filled with joy and community love,” MidCape Indivisible, a group that helped organize the Hyannis iteration of the rally, wrote on Facebook.

Peter Afouxenides, 61, pleaded not guilty in Barnstable District Court on Monday to one charge of  assault and battery on a person 60 years or older/disabled person. He was released without having to post bail. 

“It happened so fast,” Jeffrey Smith, whom Afouxenides allegedly attacked, told The Boston Globe. “It was so uplifting and peaceful until I thought I might get killed.”

Attorney information for Afouxenides was not publicly listed as of Monday night.

Man alleged punched 77-year-old protester in the face

The No Kings protests organized against President Donald Trump‘s agenda drew millions into the streets across the country on Saturday, including a crowd of tens of thousands in Boston and other, smaller groups elsewhere in Massachusetts.

In Hyannis, around 4,000 people gathered for a protest, according to MidCape Indivisible.

A Barnstable police officer who was assigned to monitor the protest wrote in a police report filed in court that protesters lined the roadway around the Airport Rotary, at times walking into the road and stalling traffic.

Officer Peter Ginnetty saw an SUV stop and a man, the driver, and a woman get out and walk behind the vehicle, he wrote in his report. He was unable to see what was happening behind the SUV, but then saw the driver appear to throw a protester’s sign into the road and walk back towards his car.

The officer ran over and saw an older man laying in the road; protesters helped move the man onto nearby grass.

The man — Smith — “was unable to speak to me and was groaning in what I would assume to be severe pain,” Ginnetty wrote. He was ultimately brought to Cape Cod Hospital. 

A friend of Smith’s told police that the driver got out of the car and punched Smith multiple times in the face, making him to fall and hit his head. 

Afouxenides allegedly told police that the older man had hit his car with a protest sign. 

“(Police) observed Mr. Smith’s sign, and I highly doubt that this poorly constructed cardboard sign could or would have caused damage to a motor vehicle. I searched the ground for anything that Mr. Afouxenides could have perceived would cause damage, but I did not see any,” Ginnetty wrote.

Smith was bleeding from the back of his head and had swelling on his face, a laceration to his nose, and a black eye, according to the police report. He told officers he was crossing the road when he saw Afouxenides speed up heading towards him, and he held out his sign to encourage the driver to stop, Ginnetty wrote.

MidCape Indivisible said organizers plan to collect cards from wellwishers for Smith at The Landing at Hyannis shopping center, near the T Mobile, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26.

“We also will be following this case through the courts to make sure justice is served. We continue to condemn any kind of violence, as a core principle of all our events is a commitment to nonviolence,” the group wrote.