Michael J. Curll, 48, of Lynn, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after being arrested on Oct. 18 for attacking a protester dressed as an inflated Donald Trump at the “No Kings” protest on Humphrey Street, according to court documents.
Curll pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Oct. 20 and will return for his next court date on Dec. 2, the documents noted.
The protest began at 10 a.m. on Oct. 18 on Humphrey Street and was organized by North Shore Indivisible, part of a national-scale series of protests against the Trump Administration. A crowd of roughly 1,200 people had gathered for the event.
According to the police report — written by Swampscott Police Officer Briana Sanchez — patrol units were dispatched to Humphrey Street at approximately 10:20 a.m. that morning near the Lynn line for a report of a fight from police units that were present at the protest.
The document noted that one witness, Angela Mazariegos, captured the whole incident in a video recording. In the video, the victim — Jonathan Silveira of Peabody — was seen walking down the sidewalk on King’s Beach, heading toward Lynn, wearing an inflatable Trump costume, and carrying a flag on a pole.
Curll was seen walking next to Silveira before kicking the victim with his right leg and foot to strike the right side of Silveira’s body. The report added that Curll was wearing “closed-toe sneakers.”
Curll then charged at Silveira from behind and “grabs him around the waist.”
“Curll uses his right leg to hook around Silveira’s legs, causing him to fall forward. Curll then reengages, wrapping his arms around Silveira’s neck and jumping up,” the report stated.
Silveira apparently told police officers “that he needed to buy a new costume now because of the damage sustained during the altercation.”
Beauport Ambulance and Swampscott Fire promptly arrived at the scene in order to evaluate both parties. Silveira signed a refusal, stating that “he would check in with his doctor if he started to not feel well.”
Curll was then placed in handcuffs, transported to the police station, and booked without incident. He was later released that day at 1:43 p.m., the report said.
Lt. Michael Frayler wrote a supplemental report of the incident. In his report, he noted that, via internal video surveillance, he observed that Curll claimed to have been assaulted by Silveira, stating that “he had been hit in the head with a pole.”
Frayler noted that pictures of Curll’s head and face were taken, and that “at this time, there does not appear to be an apparent injury.”
