BlazeTV's Sara Gonzales files police report after being accosted by Beto O'Rourke staffer, 'manhandled' by cop at Democrat's campaign event

BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales said she has filed a police report after being inexplicably attacked by a campaign staffer and "manhandled" by a police officer while attending a town hall event for Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke.

What happened?

In a Twitter post Sunday, the "The News & Why It Matters" host said she was using her phone to film an exchange between O'Rourke and a constituent at the Dallas, Texas, town hall when the staffer tried to pry her phone out of her hands without provocation.

Gonzales added that an officer with the Dallas Police Department then "manhandled" and shoved her, almost causing her to fall down a set of stairs. She added that the officer didn't give her any directive before getting physical.

According to Gonzales, several other attendees at the town hall were using their phones to take pictures or record video during the event. A photo of the event tweeted out by O'Rourke's own account backed up her claim.

How is she responding?

Following the incident, Gonzales vowed legal action, saying she would be requesting bodycam footage from Dallas police and speaking with her attorney about potential lawsuits.

On Monday, the conservative host reported that she had filed a request for the bodycam footage and that the request had been received by the department.

On Tuesday, Gonzales told TheBlaze she formally filed a police report with the DPD describing the incident of battery committed against her by the campaign staffer. She has identified the staffer in question to authorities but has so far refrained from sharing her identity with the media.

Gonzales has also filed a complaint with the department against the officer who she said attacked her. The department confirmed receipt of the complaint on Tuesday, according to Gonzales.

TheBlaze reached out to the DPD for comment regarding the incident. This article will be updated with the department's response.

Anything else?

In a statement to the Daily Wire, Gonzales said she felt "violated" after the incident.

She said, "There were never any instructions not to film, nor were there signs. In fact, a photo posted on Twitter by Beto’s team shows numerous audience members with their phones up, and video cameras in the back. They also live-streamed the event."

"This was clearly not an event that prohibited video recording," the host noted.

"I started recording at this public forum, as I had seen many others do, and was immediately attacked by Beto’s staffer, who blocked me and grabbed my phone, trying to pull it out of my hands," she recalled. "As I was attempting to maintain the grip on my phone while it was being pulled from me, a black female Dallas Police officer blindsided me and forcefully grabbed my arms, pushing me away where I nearly tripped down some steps."

"She had given no directive, no instruction, no warning before forcefully putting her hands on me," Gonzales claimed.

"I am not a criminal and had not broken any laws. I’ve never been in an incident like this with law enforcement, and have always been extremely supportive and respectful of them, but this incident affected me very viscerally. The fact that I had to wrestle my private property away from a stranger attempting to take it from me only to be manhandled by the police as if I were a criminal is deeply upsetting," she added.

"Even worse was seeing the crowd of people — presumably the same people who insisted police should stand down and allow criminals to loot stores and burn down buildings – watching this abuse of power happen in total silence. Honestly, it felt like I was in the twilight zone," she concluded.