A well-known anti-Trump activist claimed he was attacked Saturday afternoon shortly after the Blue Lives Matter parade came to an end in Lake Sumter Landing.
Ed McGinty, who has received at least two threats over his stance against President Trump and was interviewed by CNN in March, filed a report with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office late Saturday afternoon. McGinty suffered scratches on his neck and his lip was swollen and bloodied.
The Village of Hadley resident said he was driving through the Winn-Dixie parking lot at Lake Sumter Landing when a man jumped out of his cart and confronted him. He said the man, who he described as possibly Italian, about 5-foot-11-inches tall and heavy set, grabbed him by the throat and pulled him from his golf cart, which was sporting a sign that said, “Biden Will Kick Trump’s Fat Ass.” He said he reacted by punching the man in the nose and several other men jumped in and pulled them apart.
“One man said to me, ‘Just get in your cart and take off,’” McGinty said.
He said he drove away and was getting half thumbs up and half middle fingers as he headed toward Palmer Legends Country Club on Buena Vista Boulevard. He added that the attack came as a surprise because he just driving through Lake Sumter Landing and wasn’t protesting.
“This guy obviously was a Trump supporter,” he said. “He didn’t like my signs.”
McGinty said he decided to report the incident to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office because he was afraid the other man might fabricate a story about what happened.
He added that’s he not in fear of his safety and doesn’t plan to slow down on his protests against the president and in support of Joe Biden.
“This is going to rev me up,” he said. “They’re really going to have to kill me to get me to stop.”