Alec Baldwin Spokesman Says Actor 'Assaulted' by Photog After Picture of Shoving Incident Surfaces

A spokesman for Alec Baldwin tells The Blaze that the actor was "assaulted" and that he was simply defending himself after a picture of the actor shoving a photographer surfaced online Tuesday.

The picture appeared on The New York Daily News showing Baldwin engaged in a physical confrontation with a man, identified as Marcus Santos, holding a camera:

It happened outside a marriage license bureau in New York while Baldwin was with his fiance, Hilaria Thomas. Santos gave his account of things to the New York Daily News:

“He was looking mad,” said Santos. “He said, ‘Step back, step back.’ I said, ‘We’re moving back.’”

Baldwin then grabbed a second News photographer, Jefferson Siegel, and Santos told the “Rock of Ages” star to back off.

“I said, ‘Don’t touch him,’” the 42-year-old Santos said. “I knew he was going to attack me. I stepped back, and he kept coming."

“He comes after me, starts shoving and punching me — one time, right in the chin. And then he started shoving me, and pushing me. Then he goes the other way.”

But Baldwin's camp is telling a different story. In an email to The Blaze, Baldwin's spokesman says the star was just defending himself.

"As Alec and his fiancé were leaving City Hall, a 'civilian' walking in front of Alec positioned himself to obstruct the view of a photographer aggressively trying to shoot the couple," the spokesman said.

"The photographer was clearly frustrated, pushed past the bystander and assaulted Alec with his camera. There were no punches thrown, and any subsequent physical contact was simply Alec protecting himself."

As for Baldwin, he responded to the incident on Twitter, saying he was nearly hit with a camera and making his thoughts about the photographer known by including the hashtag, "#allpaparazzishouldbewaterboarded":

He wasn't done there. He also went on to make a Trayvon Martin reference: