Wild video shows a vicious fight erupting between two St. Louis County Democrats who have a history of beef — with both women yanking hair and throwing haymakers after a town hall meeting.
Missouri state Sen. Angela Walton Mosley and St. Louis County Councilwoman Shalanda Webb got into a violent scuffle after a town hall meeting at the local rec center in the city of Bellefontaine Neighbors, video obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch shows.
Rochelle Walton Gray, Mosley’s sister and a former county councilwoman, was also involved in the fray before it was broken up by shocked bystanders, the footage shows.
Webb and the sisters have a history of political conflicts going back at least five years, according to the newspaper. All three have filed suits in connection with the fracas, which lasted for about 40 seconds.
Footage shows Webb, wearing a leopard maxi-dress and glasses, waving a pen in Mosley’s face in an animated exchange after a Sept. 25 meeting during a confrontation as Webb was trying to leave the auditorium, the audio-less clip shows.
Mosley, in a black outfit, reaches out and appears to grab Webb by the throat and push her against a wall, which sparked the brawl as Webb charged after her.
The pair grapple across the room before Webb grabs Mosley by the hair and the two exchange multiple blows to the head, according to the video.
Gray, wearing a blue top, jumps in to try to help her sister and grabs Mosley as onlookers run over and try to separate the women. They’re eventually pulled apart.
Webb maintained in a statement to the Post-Dispatch that the video proves she “did not initiate this confrontation.
“It shows that I acted solely to protect myself after being physically attacked.”
Mosley and Gray claim in their lawsuits, which seek $25,000 in damages for emotional trauma and humiliation, that they never threatened Webb and that Mosley “maintained the dignity of her office” of state senator.
Webb, meanwhile, has requested an order of protection against Mosley and Gray, which will be heard in St. Louis County Circuit Court on Jan. 29, according to the paper.
Webb has also asked the Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department to press charges. The case was later handed over to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.
All three have claimed they acted in self-defense.