Tim Profitt

Kentucky Stomper's Attorney: Tape Shows 'My Client Is Justified' (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 19, 2010, 11:41AM

Tim Profitt, the former Rand Paul county coordinator who stomped on a MoveOn activist's head outside the final debate of the Kentucky Senate race in October, finally got his day in court yesterday. And though Profitt didn't say much, his lawyer told reporters that the notorious video of Profitt's foot crushing down on MoveOn activist Lauren Valle actually shows Profitt had been subject to a smear campaign.

Profitt appeared in a Lexington, KY court and pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from the incident, which briefly defined the Kentucky Senate race before Paul, the Republican nominee, won in a landslide Nov. 2.

The court was packed with folks trying to catch a glimpse of the Kentucky Stomper, according to reports from the ground. And though Profitt's been willing to discuss the incident before (like that time when he blamed a bad back for stepping on a woman that was being held down on the ground,) in court and afterward he kept his mouth shut.

His lawyer, however, laid out a defense to the charges that partly hinged on the video that got Profitt in trouble in the first place.

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Tim Profitt

Kentucky Stomper Charged With Fourth-Degree Assault

Ryan J. Reilly | October 30, 2010, 6:04PM

Former Ran Paul volunteer Tim Profitt

The Rand Paul supporter who was caught on camera stepping on the head of a MoveOn activist has been charged with fourth-degree assault, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Timothy Mark Profitt, 53, is charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree assault after he stomped on Lauren Valle's head and neck. Profitt "intentionally placed his foot on the shoulder/head region on the victim," a criminal summons says. The newspaper reported that court records say Profitt will be arraigned Nov. 18. Such a charge carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail, a $500 fine, or a combination of both, the newspaper reported.

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KY-SEN

Kentucky Stomping Victim Lauren Valle Not Apologizing To Stomper (As He Asked)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 29, 2010, 5:37PM

The 23-year-old MoveOn activist stomped on video by a Rand Paul volunteer on Monday has not -- as the stomper requested -- offered an apology to the man who stepped on her head. But Lauren Valle has reached out to Tim Profitt in a long open letter that states, "Violence hurts everyone."

Outside the final Kentucky Senate debate between the Republican Paul and Democratic nominee Jack Conway, Valle was wrestled to the ground and stomped on by Profitt after she tried to confront Paul as part of a MoveOn stunt. In the aftermath, Profitt has been investigated by police for criminal assault and, in a move that surprised some, called on Valle to apologize to him for getting in the way of his foot, or something.

Today, Valle decided not to give Profitt what he wanted. But she did offer a long take on the nature of violent politics that has appeared more than a few times this year.

"Mr. Profitt, You have asked that I apologize to you," Valle wrote. "Perhaps this is not the apology that you are looking for, but I do have some things to say."

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KY-SEN

Democrats Doing Their Best To Politicize The Kentucky Stomp (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 28, 2010, 12:02PM

In a new web video just out from the Kentucky Democratic Party, the stomping of a MoveOn.org activist by a county coordinator for Republican Rand Paul's Senate campaign is turned into a metaphor (in no particular order) for ending federal breast cancer research, the elimination of mine safety laws, an end to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and a $2,000 boost in the Medicare deductible, among other things.

"Rand Paul: Stomping on you," the video reads. "Stomping on Kentucky."

It seems Democrats have decided to politicize the allegedly criminal assault of activist Lauren Valle.

Paul has, of course, made it fairly easy for Democrats to turn the jarring video of Valle's head getting stomped by Tim Profitt outside a Lexington debate Monday into their closing argument in the Senate race. Paul was slow to condemn the attack -- though he "dissociated" himself from Profitt soon after the event -- and has decided to keep the nearly $2,000 Profitt donated to his campaign.

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KY-SEN

Rand Paul: On Second Thought, No I Won't Give That Stomper's Money Back

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 27, 2010, 7:00PM

Rand Paul

Kentucky Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul has decided not to return the nearly $2,000 in campaign money he collected from Tim Profitt, the man who Paul recently forced out as Bourbon County coordinator of his Kentucky Senate campaign after he stepped on a MoveOn.org activist outside a debate Monday night.

Profitt has given Paul's Republican campaign $1,950, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports, money Paul's campaign told the paper it'll hang on to even as Profitt (and maybe other Paul volunteers) come under criminal investigation for their part in the Kentucky stomp.

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Tim Profitt

Kentucky Police Consider Charging More Paul Supporters In Stomping Case

Brian Beutler | October 27, 2010, 6:14PM

MoveOn volunteer Lauren Valle struggles with Rand Paul supporters in Kentucky.

You thought the Kentucky Stomping Story had been swallowed by the news cycle? Think again.

The identification of the Kentucky Stomper -- former Rand Paul volunteer Tim Profitt -- allowed Lexington police to issue a criminal summons in the case. He'll soon appear in district court and possibly face charges. But Lexington police say the investigation is still ongoing, and they may pursue the other Paul-supporters who participated in the assault.

"At this point, the investigation is still ongoing," public information officer Sherelle Roberts told ABC News. "We're looking into other individuals who may have been involved in the assault and could get charged."

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KY-SEN

Conservatives Tout New Video Of Kentucky Stomping (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 27, 2010, 4:19PM

Conservatives are pushing new video of Monday's stomping incident in Kentucky, which they say proves MoveOn.org's Lauren Valle was trying to "assault" Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul before Paul volunteers wrestled her to the ground and Paul's Bourbon County coordinator Tim Profitt stepped on her head.

"As the video clearly demonstrates, Valle was there to do more than simply 'hold a sign,'" a RedState blogger who posted the new video today wrote. "Paul supporters were not reacting to a mere dislike of her message."

The blogger writes that "none of that is any excuse, nor even mitigating circumstances, when it comes to Profitt stomping on Valle's head," but says the tape shows that any notion that Valle was "the victim of an angry mob who simply 'didn't like her message'" is "demonstrably false."

What do we learn from the new video? Not a lot. It depicts the chaotic clash of supporters outside the Senate debate in Lexington that preceded the stomping, just as all witness accounts and Valle's own recounting have said. Conservatives touting the video say it shows Valle "attempting to assault" Paul but it also appears she was getting pushed from behind.

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Tim Profitt

Kentucky Stomping Victim: 'Important That Stomper Be Held Accountable' (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | October 27, 2010, 9:53AM

The MoveOn activist who was tackled and stomped on by Rand Paul supporters Monday night says she'll do whatever she can to see that her chief assailant, Tim Profitt, is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

"I plan to see the process through," Lauren Valle told Keith Olbermann last night. "I think that it`s very important that people be held responsible for this sort of behavior."

Yesterday, Valle told reporters she wasn't certain yet whether she'd pursue civil action against Profitt. However he has been summoned to court, where a judge will determine whether criminal charges are warranted in the case.

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KY-SEN

Kentucky Stomper Wants An Apology From Woman He Assaulted (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | October 27, 2010, 9:20AM

Former Ran Paul volunteer Tim Profitt

Tim Profitt -- the former Rand Paul volunteer who stomped on the head of a MoveOn activist -- told told local CBS station WKYT that he wants an apology from the woman he stomped and that she started the whole thing.

"I don't think it's that big of a deal," Profitt said. "I would like for her to apologize to me to be honest with you."

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KY-SEN

Kentucky Stomper: I Stomped Because Of Back Pain

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 9:03PM

Tim Profitt of Paris, Ky., is joined by other demonstrators as he attends a rally in support of Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The rally also drew demonstrators opposed to Bunning's action in holding up a $10 billion spending bill because it would add to the deficit. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

The former Rand Paul volunteer who stomped on the head of a prone MoveOn activist tells a local CBS affiliate he would've never put his foot on the victim at all if it wasn't for his bad back.

According to WKYT, "[Tim] Profitt explained that he used his foot to try and keep her down because he can't bend over because of back problems. He also says police were alerted to watch her before Paul arrived because people in the crown recognized her as someone who may try and pull a stunt."

Video footage of the altercation clearly shows Lauren Valle subdued on the ground, held by multiple large men.

Rand Paul

Lexington Police Serving Former Rand Paul Volunteer With Criminal Summons

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 4:36PM

Tim Profitt of Paris, Ky., is joined by other demonstrators as he attends a rally in support of Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The rally also drew demonstrators opposed to Bunning's action in holding up a $10 billion spending bill because it would add to the deficit. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

The Lexington police have just announced that they've served Tim Profitt -- Rand Paul's former Bourbon County coordinator -- with a criminal summons for assaulting a MoveOn activist outside of the Kentucky Senate debate last night.

"Today, October 26, 2010, detectives identified the suspect, involved in the assault, as Tim Profitt," reads a statement from public information officer Sherelle Roberts. "Mr. Profitt is currently being served with a criminal summons ordering him to appear before a Fayette County District Court Judge."

The victim, Lauren Valle, claims that the attack -- during which she was pulled to the ground and stomped, resulting in a concussion -- was premeditated.

Rand Paul

Kentucky Stomper Identified As Paul's (Now Former) Bourbon County Coordinator

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 3:29PM

The Rand Paul campaign has just severed ties with their Bourbon County coordinator -- a man by the name of Tim Profitt -- who has identified himself as the supporter who stomped on the head and neck of a MoveOn activist outside of the Senate debate in Lexington, KY last night, according to Fox News.

Profitt apologized for the scuffle to the Associated Press this afternoon, and apparently told them that the camera angle made the incident appear worse than it really was.

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