OREM, Utah — An arrest was made in Orem Tuesday night after Mayor David Young, as well as another individual, was spit on and assaulted.
Linnea Pugmire, 31, now faces multiple charges including two third-degree felony counts of threatening elected officials and one count of assault, among other charges.
“It was just really scary and something you don’t expect,” said Michelle Lee who took video of the incident.
Watch the full video of the assault on the Orem mayor below:
Arresting documents state that Pugmire admitted to police that they were upset at the mayor, "over personal concerns with family."
“She charges towards me, she spits on me, she spits and hits the girl next to me," recalled Young. "Obviously, when that happened, I wasn’t really happy about it, so I pushed her to try to get her away from us.”
The documents also say someone 'may have' slapped the mayor as well. Lee, whose father also sits on the city council, says her sister was hit along with Young.
“I was terrified," said Lee. "I'm with my mom and my sisters, the mayor, the city attorney, I don’t know what her plan was, she was so erratic and unhinged.”
Video shared with FOX 13 News by witnesses captured the entire incident in which Pugmire is heard saying, "How dare you" multiple times.
"He deserves it," Pugmire said in the video after being asked why they spit on the mayor.
The video also disclosed that Pugmire's mother is Genelle Pugmire of The Daily Herald, which is what provoked the encounter.
Linnea Pugmire is also seen in the video spitting as well as trying to hit the mayor before being pushed away and later handcuffed by police officers.
“For elected officials in general, this should not be a thing," Young said. "They should be able to speak, to have discussions, and have it be civil debate without fear of having someone jump out of a car and attack them.”
The incident was triggered after a city council meeting in Orem earlier in the night when Young spoke about his displeasure toward the reporting done by Genelle Pugmire.
Video below shows Mayor Young's speech during council meeting:
In his 20-minute speech during the city council meeting, Mayor Young referenced multiple articles of Genelle Pugmire's, which he claimed were "extremely off the rails."
"Whoever is pushing this is promoting extreme divisiveness," Young said in part during the meeting. "Extremely off the rails articles that keep showing up in our local newspaper."
The City of Orem issued a statement to FOX 13 News after the incident, saying: "We are deeply troubled by this incident because City Hall should be a place for civil civic dialogue where everyone feels safe and protected. The security and safety of our public officials is a top priority. The City of Orem will continue to promote civility at all times and ask for the public to join us in this effort."
According to The Daily Herald website, Genelle Pugmire covers "Provo, Orem and faith." The paper is a local publication that covers Utah County.
The Daily Herald would not give a comment to FOX 13 News about the incident.
Linnea Pugmire was arrested and held on bail in the Utah County Jail.
