Despite protesting his innocence, Peru’s president accepted the decision to remove him and said he would not legally challenge it… unlike a certain someone.
A 24-year-old man has been arrested in Peru for punching a politician live on television.
Congressman Ricardo Burga was speaking to a media scrum outside government buildings in Lima on Monday shortly after he voted to impeach President Martín Vizcarra, who was removed from power.
Apparently unhappy with this, Carlos Ezeta managed to make his way through the crowd of reporters to deliver a nasty right overhand to the side of his head — all in front of the rolling TV cameras.
Footage shows security scrambling to restrain the assailant, too late to save the opposition member from a sore head; La Republica reported he suffered nose bleeds and even lost consciousness, and was taken to a local medical facility for treatment.
Ezeta, still in possession of his phone, posted a selfie on his Instagram, telling followers he was fine, and that he didn’t “have any weapons or anything.”
#Peru: A man knocked out congressman Ricardo Burga (@ricardoburgaap) after Congress voted out the President over alleged corruption. The man has been identified as Carlos Ezeta Gómez; faces up to 6 years in prison.
Report: https://t.co/BvCRKcGEHn pic.twitter.com/a6PEXvy5bY
— Anonymous 👥 (@YourAnonCentral) November 10, 2020
“I did not think that the night would end like this. It is the first time I step into a police station where I will spend the night. They will ask me for my cell phone shortly,” he wrote.
“They are accusing me of resistance to authority and it is false. I am collaborating with the police. I’m fine.”
Ezeta faces up to six months in prison if convicted.
The South American country has been thrown into political upheaval with the removal of the President, who managed to survive a first impeachment attempt over corruption accusations just a two months ago — but not the second.
Accused of accepting bribes for government contracts, 105 out of 130 members of congress voted in favor of his removal — far beyond the 87 needed.
Despite branding the accusations as “baseless” and “false”, Vizcarra said he would accept Congress’s decision and would not legally contest it… a stark contrast to certain other leaders on the northern side of the continental landmass.
“Today I am leaving the presidential palace,” he said in a speech on Monday, per CNN. “Today I am going home.”
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Originally published at https://toofab.com/2020/11/10/peruvian-congressman-gets-punched-in-the-face-on-live-tv-after-impeachment-vote/ on .