A man has been arrested at the Sundance Film Festival after assaulting a U.S. House of Representatives member, who was in attendance, CNN reports. The Park City Police Department stated that the incident occurred at a private party hosted by the Creative Artists Agency at High West Saloon in Park City on Friday evening. The suspect, Christian Young, reportedly entered the event unlawfully after being turned away for not having an invitation. Once inside, he proceeded to assault Florida Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost and a female guest, who has yet to be identified.
Representative Frost posted about the incident on X on Saturday evening, saying,
“Last night, I was assaulted by a man at Sundance Festival who told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face. He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off. The individual was arrested, and I am okay.”
The 29-year-old Congressman made history when he was elected as the first Afro-Cuban and Gen-Z representative to be elected into office. He has advocated for multiple issues, including voting rights, gun violence prevention, and LGBTQ+ rights.
The Sundance Film Festival released a statement about the incident as well:
“We strongly condemn last night’s assault and abhor any form of violence, harassment, and hate speech. While the incident occurred at a non-Festival-affiliated event, such behavior is intolerable and against our values of upholding a welcoming and inspiring environment for all our attendees. The safety and security of our festival attendees is always our chief concern, and our thoughts are with Congressman Frost and his continued well-being…”
This will be the festival’s final year in Utah, as it will be moving to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027.
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