Left: George Bardmesser (Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center). Right: Bardmesser being arrested at his campaign event on Aug. 4, 2024 (WPLG).
A 59-year-old political candidate in Florida was arrested over the weekend after a disturbance at his own campaign event where he allegedly choked one minor and slapped another.
George S. Bardmesser, who is a candidate for a Sunny Isle Beach city commission seat, was taken into custody on Sunday afternoon and charged with two counts of child abuse without causing great bodily harm, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
The “Republican Coffee Meet-Up” with Bardmesser took place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 4, at El Tropico Cuban Cuisine in the 17000 block of Collins Avenue, which is about 15 miles northeast of Miami, according to a post from the candidate’s Facebook page where he said he was “excited to meet and talk with voters about the future.”
An arrest report obtained by Miami Fox affiliate WSVN states that during the event, Bardmesser was sitting inside of the restaurant while several local political leaders opposed to Bardmesser were seated at the table next to him. At some point, Bardmesser allegedly got into a verbal altercation with the people at the adjacent table that quickly escalated into physical violence.
Police say Bardmesser and the other group got into a shoving match, during which Bardmesser allegedly grabbed one of the teens and put them in a chokehold.
Pedro Vera, El Tropico’s owner, spoke to Miami ABC affiliate WPLG about the incident.
“There was a couple of kids sitting and I don’t know whether they were instigating, said something, generated this gentleman (Bardmesser) to get up,” Vera told the station. “He put a chokehold on one of the kids and slapped another one. He got out of hand. He lost control. It should have never happened.”
Video of the incident obtained by WPLG reportedly showed Bardmesser approach the group of teens as they were eating and grab one of them from behind, placing him in the chokehold. When patrons intervened and tried to break up the scuffle, Bardmesser allegedly slapped the other teen. The victims were reportedly 15- and 16-year-old males.
The two teens who were allegedly assaulted were attending the event with current Sunny Isles Commissioner Fabiola Stuyvesant, who spoke to WPLG after the ordeal.
“I would never bring my kids to a political event if I thought I was putting them in harm,” Stuyvesant reportedly told the station. “As a parent, it’s the worst nightmare you could have — to see your child be hurt by a big guy.”
Bardmesser was processed at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and made his first court appearance on Monday morning where Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer set his bond at $5,000. As conditions of his bond, Bardmesser is reportedly prohibited from contacting the two victims in any way and must maintain a distance of at least 500 feet from both.
Records show that his bond had been submitted as of Monday afternoon.
Bardmesser is a Russian-American citizen and attorney who is a member of the New York State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar, records show.
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