Faulkner County man involved in fistfight at Republican meeting sues city of Fort Smith over donations
FORT SMITH — Attorneys for a Conway man who was involved in a fistfight at a Saline County Republican Committee meeting in September have filed a suit in Sebastian County accusing the city of illegally allocating tax dollars to private organizations and nonprofits.
Jimmie Cavin, who describes himself as “Professional Bully Fighter, Warrior For Law Enforcement, Freedom Of Information Act Advocate, First Amendment Advocate, Justice Advocate, Animal Lover” on social media, is listed as the plaintiff in the lawsuit filed Friday by Fort Smith attorneys Joey McCutchen and Stephen Napurano.
The attorneys claim in a press release the city “unlawfully directed taxpayer funds to private organizations and non-profits, including Mercy Hospital Ball, the Fort Smith Round Table Juneteenth Celebration, Steel Horse Rally, Inc., multiple golf sponsorship, Twisted Effects Braid Studio, LLC, and ‘Begin a New Generation (BANG)’, in violation of Article 12, Section 5 of the Arkansas Constitution, thereby constituting an illegal exaction under Article 16, Section 1.”
“While charitable and private organizations serve laudable, important roles in communities, it is not the role of government to decide which private organizations should receive taxpayer money,” McCutchen stated in the release. “Taxpayers should have the freedom to decide for themselves whether to support certain charitable organizations, rather than having government officials make those decisions on their behalf using taxpayer money. For government to do so is unconstitutional in Arkansas.”
Josh Buchfink, Fort Smith’s public relations manager, said in an email Friday evening city officials would have no comment until they had a chance to consult with the city’s attorneys.
Cavin, a Faulkner County Republican, was involved in a fight Sept. 5 at a Saline County Republican Committee meeting at the Benton Senior Center. The fight took place between Cavin, 62, and Jon Newcomb, 42, according to a Benton Police Department report.
Video from the meeting posted by Kenneth Wallis via his profile, TheRightAngle, on the online video platform Rumble appears to show two women exchange heated words after one bumped into the other while in line at a microphone waiting to speak during the meeting.
That led to a confrontation between Cavin and Newcomb. Newcomb walked toward Cavin, who reared up and punched Newcomb in the face, the video shows.
As Newcomb fell, Cavin continued to punch him. Men gathered around Cavin and Newcomb, who were on the floor, and pulled them away from one another, the video shows. Then the two rose to their feet. With his shirt hanging off his right shoulder, Cavin was escorted away while blood flowed from around Newcomb’s left eye and a woman dabbed at the injury.
The incident resulted in a police investigation and an official complaint being filed with the Republican Party of Arkansas’s Executive Committee.
