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Michael Avenattiannounced on Saturday that he’s looking into an accusation of assault againstTucker Carlson, an allegation which the Fox News host has denied.
Avenatti, the 47-year-old lawyer who rose to prominence for representingStormy Daniels, announced that he was investigating the matter on Saturday, accusing Carlson “and/or members of his inner circle” of allegedly assaulting a “gay Latino immigrant” at a club in Virginia in October.
He alsoposted a videothat allegedly documents part of the incident, in which Carlson, 49, appears to tell another man to “get the f— out of here,” but does not appear to assault anyone. The man later appeared to be led out of the room.
The lawyer went on to allege on Twitter that Carlson’s son also “committed assault and battery,” claims Carlson disputes in a statement.
“On October 13, I had dinner with two of my children and some family friends at the Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, Virginia,” Carlson says in a statement Fox News provided to PEOPLE. “Toward the end of the meal, my 19-year-old daughter went to the bathroom with a friend. On their way back through the bar, a middle-aged man stopped my daughter and asked if she was sitting with Tucker Carlson. My daughter had never seen the man before. She answered: ‘That’s my dad,’ and pointed to me. The man responded, ‘Are you Tucker’s w—-?’ He then called her a ‘f—ing c—.'”
“My daughter returned to the table in tears,” Carlson continues. “She soon left the table and the club. My son, who is also a student, went into the bar to confront the man. I followed. My son asked the man if he’d called his sister a ‘w—-‘ and a ‘c—.’ The man admitted he had, and again become profane. My son threw a glass of red wine in the man’s face and told him to leave the bar, which he soon did.”
“Immediately after the incident, I described these events to the management of the Farmington Country Club,” adds Carlson. “The club spent more than three weeks investigating the incident. Last week, they revoked the man’s membership and threw him out of the club.”
The Farmington Country Club, located in Charlottesville, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Avenatti went on to claim that Carlson lied about what happened that night.
“Your stmt about what transpired is an absolute lie,” Avenattiwrote on Twitter, alleging that Carlson’s daughter had not been insulted with the same words that the Fox News host claimed she had been.
“You are the aggressor in the video as is your friend,” hetweeted. “The man at the bar sits there calmly. Numerous witnesses contradict your claim of innocence.”
“You told the man to ‘go back where you came from’ before the video starts,” he added in a separate tweet, before sharing what he claimed weremultiple excerptsfromwitness statements.
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Earlier this month, an anti-fascist group swarmed Carlson’s Washington, D.C. home, ordering him to leave town.
In a videoshared on Twitter, the group, known asSmash Racism DC, can be seen crowding around the doorsteps of theTucker Carlson Tonighthost’s residence, holding signs.
At one point in the clip, a member of the group yelled, “Tucker Carlson, we are outside your home to protest fascism and racism,” through a megaphone.
Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty
Carlson is known for his conservative views, particularly his claim that Planned Parenthood is the country’s leading cause of death.
In October, Smash Racism DC ran Texas Sen. Ted Cruz out of a restaurant in D.C., chanting, “We believe survivors” in reference to the sexual misconduct allegations made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh — claims Kavanaugh has denied.
source: people.com
