Frost

Utah police arrested a man accused of assaulting a Florida congressman this weekend at a Sundance Film Festival after the man allegedly hurled racist comments to several patrons of a Creative Artists Agency party.

Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Florida) posted on X that he was “okay” after being slugged by the man, identified by police as 28-year-old Christian Young.

“I was assaulted by a man at Sundance Festival who told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face,” Frost wrote Saturday in an X post. “He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off. The individual was arrested.”

Frost, 29, has the distinction of being the first member of Gen Z elected to U.S. Congress. Born in Orlando, Frost is in his second term representing a Central Florida district. He is Afro-Latino.

On his website, Frost noted his “diverse heritage with roots in Puerto Rican, Lebanese, and Haitian ancestry.” He was adopted at birth “by a Kansas-born musician-producer and … a special education teacher who immigrated to the US from Cuba as a child in the 1960s.”

A person who was at the party told The Times that the suspect crashed the party and said “offensive things” to several partygoers, including in the men’s restroom, before allegedly assaulting the congressman.

Security personnel removed the suspect from the venue, the source said. Police quickly arrived.

Park City Police Lt. Danielle Snelson said that officers responded to a report of an assault just after midnight at the High West Saloon on Park Avenue — the location of the Friday night party hosted by CAA.

“Upon arrival, officers conducted an investigation and determined that Christian Young unlawfully entered a private party after previously being turned away for not having an invitation,” Snelson wrote in an email. “Once inside the saloon, Young assaulted Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost and a female who was attending the private event.”

Frost’s companion was not identified.

After the incident, the congressman was seen speaking with Park City police officers outside the restaurant. In his X post, Frost wrote: “Thank you to the venue security and Park City PD for assistance on this incident.”

The suspect was arrested and booked into Utah’s Summit County Jail on charges of aggravated burglary and two counts of simple assault.

Axios reported that County Judge Richard Mrazik ordered Young to be held without bail because of “convincing evidence” that he may flee the area and “would constitute a substantial danger” to the community.

“I am horrified by the attack on Congressman Maxwell Frost. Grateful that he is okay, but appalled that this terrifying assault took place,” Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X. “The perpetrator must be aggressively prosecuted. Hate and political violence has no place in our country.”

The altercation occurred several hours before the deadly shooting of an ICU nurse in Minneapolis by a federal agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Saturday shooting has sparked widespread outrage. It was the third shooting in Minneapolis by ICE officers in the last three weeks, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told CBS News.

On Sunday, a small group of about a dozen anti-ICE protesters walked up Park City’s Main Street, urging festival attendees to join them.

Staff writer Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.

PARK CITY, Utah — A man was arrested Friday night at a party during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, for allegedly assaulting a Florida congressman.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost wrote on X Saturday that he was punched in the face by a man who told Frost that President Trump was going to deport him. Frost was born in Orlando, Fla.

The altercation occurred at a private party hosted by talent agency CAA at the High West Distillery, a popular venue for festival-adjacent events.

“He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off,” wrote Frost, who is Black. “The individual was arrested and I am okay.”

Frost, the first Gen Z member of Congress, thanked the venue security and the Park City Police Department for their help.

Christian Joel Young, 28, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary, assaulting an elected official and assault and transported to Summit County Jail, according to court records.

Young is also accused of grabbing a woman by the shoulder. He appeared to have crashed the party by jumping a fence and had a Sundance Film Festival pass that was not issued in his name, according to the police affidavit.

Sundance Film Festival representatives released a statement saying that they “strongly condemn” the assault, noting that though it occurred at a non-affiliated event, such behavior is “against our values of upholding a welcoming and inspiring environment for all our attendees.”

“The safety and security of our festival attendees is always our chief concern, and our thoughts are with Congressman Frost and his continued well-being,” the statement read. “We encourage anyone with additional information on this matter to contact the Park City Police Department.”

County Judge Richard Mrazik ordered Young held without bail, on the grounds that he would constitute “a substantial danger to any other individual or to the community, or is likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court if released on bail.” Young has a prior misdemeanor conviction, according to court records.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote on X that he was horrified by the attack and that “the perpetrator must be aggressively prosecuted.”

“Hate and political violence has no place in our country,” Jeffries continued.

Messages seeking comment were left for representatives for the Park City Police Department and CAA.

Bahr writes for the Associated Press.