A 29-year-old woman has been charged with abuse of a police horse after allegedly slapping the animal during an anti-Trump protest just over a week ago in Kansas City, Missouri.
The woman, arrested on Friday evening, was released after posting a $US500 bond.
The incident happened outside a rally last weekend for Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump.
The horse, named Dan, was allegedly slapped in the face as two mounted officers tried to control protesters outside the Trump rally.
The woman in question could not be found in the crowd following the alleged slap, and police had been searching for her since.
Reports suggest she was identified by a caller to a police hotline.
Trump’s Kansas City rally was a day after he was forced to cancel a gathering in Chicago because of violence.
The woman will appear in municipal court on May 4.
Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forte, in a blog published the day after the protest, said an estimated 500 people had gathered in downtown Kansas City outside the Trump rally.
Of those, a small number showed up intent on antagonizing and breaking the law, he said.
He continued: “Police were dealing with a bomb threat reported inside the Midland Theater as the rally started. At about the same time, I heard officers on the radio saying they were starting to get surrounded by the people outside.
“The Trump protesters were on both sides of Main Street. They started encroaching onto the street. The opposing sides periodically tried to come together, and officers found themselves breaking up more and more disturbances.
“The officers called in our Mounted Patrol for back-up to break the two groups apart and get them out of the street. In the course of that, a police horse was assaulted.
“More officers were called in to help maintain safety and order. Some of the people gathered outside began to put on personal protective equipment (gas masks). Several of them tried to rush the front doors of the theater, blocking Main Street in the process.
“Police issued repeated commands to stay out of the street. They warned that pepper spray would be used if those gathered didn’t follow the commands. People had ample opportunity to back up or disperse. Police tried to get them out of the street for three minutes. Those three minutes were just when they were in the street itself. Tensions had been building before that on the sidewalk. They blocked traffic and compromised safety. Some cars caught in the back-up were surrounded. When the crowd refused to obey police commands, officers had to deploy pepper spray on two occasions throughout the evening.
“A total of four people were arrested. Given the circumstances, our officers exercised great restraint. And this morning, no windows are boarded up downtown. No one suffered any injuries beyond the temporary discomfort of pepper spray. The National Guard is not in Kansas City today to restore order.
“People in the United States certainly have the right to peaceably assemble and express their views. And police were there to ensure that last night. Citizens do not, however, have the right to put others’ safety at risk, destroy property or violate the law.”
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