Shacara McLaurin in undated photo. (Fox 5 New York)
A 23-year-old woman who became an outspoken anti-bullying advocate after a brutal beating in high school is facing assault charges after cops say she shoved a 74-year-old man to the ground during a second night of anti-Trump protests in New York City.
Cops say Clinton supporter Shacara McLaurin, who had once auditioned for “American Idol,” and the man got into a heated dispute about who should have won the election that boiled over as demonstrators gathered outside President-elect Donald Trump’s skyscraper in midtown Manhattan Thursday night.
“She was yelling ‘Black lives matter’ and he started yelling ‘All lives matter’ and it went from there,” a police source told the Daily News.
Cops said the victim suffered a cut to his head after he was knocked to the ground and complained of severe pain, according to the New York Post. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
McLaurin, of Brooklyn, was charged with two counts of assault, a felon and a misdemeanor, the paper reported.
She was the only one arrested at Trump Tower Thursday. On Wednesday cops made 65 arrests.
McLaurin became an ambassador for a group that fights bullying after five girls beat her with a padlock inside a sock to prevent her from competing in a high school talent show, FoxNews.com reported in 2011.
She suffered a bruised jaw and partial loss of hearing in her left ear after the attack, which made national headlines.
She testified at a New York City Council that bullying in high schools was an epidemic that needed to be addressed, according to the News.
“I just hope that through my speaking out, that my story becomes an example to others,” she told the lawmakers.
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