A 45-year-old Texas man has been arrested on assault charges after a confrontation with protesters during a student walkout against Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
Chad Michael Watts of Kyle was taken into custody on Tuesday, Feb. 3, on two counts of assault causing bodily injury, according to the Buda Police Department.
Police were called just before 3 p.m. the previous day to a reported fight in progress — an incident captured on video that later spread widely online.
Officers said they were told a girl standing on the sidewalk had been arguing with a man inside a vehicle. Authorities said the dispute escalated into a physical altercation involving multiple people. The man, later identified as Watts, left the area before officers arrived, but police said they were eventually able to locate and interview him.
After what police described as a thorough investigation, authorities concluded Watts was the primary aggressor.
In a statement released Tuesday, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said the circulating video appeared to show an adult confronting students “with visible hostility,” followed by an escalation that led to physical contact involving a minor.
Becerra said the students had been lawfully exercising their constitutional rights to free speech and peaceful assembly.
“No matter one’s political views, an adult bears a clear responsibility to exercise restraint, especially in the presence of children,” Becerra said. “Violence or intimidation directed at a minor — particularly during a lawful, peaceful demonstration — has no place in a constitutional republic that depends on the rule of law rather than force.”
Watts remained in the Hays County Jail as of Wednesday morning, according to jail records.
