GOP Bar Brawl Update

Just to give an update to a story I reported on here

last week about some big wigs in the local Republican party getting into a
bar fight, it now appears charges maybe likely:

Via the

Hamilton Journal:

GOP members may face charges following
bar fight

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP ? A late-night bar fight last month could lead to
charges against three Butler County Republican Party members, according to
the Butler County Sheriff?s Office.

Central Committee Chairman Quentin Nichols of West Chester Township,
Executive Committee member Sean Maloney of Liberty Township, and Central
Committee member Timothy Dearwester of Liberty Township allegedly assaulted
a bartender at Putter?s Tavern & Grill at 6575 Cincinnati-Dayton Road about
12:15 a.m. Oct. 26, according to a complaint a bartender filed with the
sheriff?s office.

An officer is scheduled to meet with the complainant today to sign
warrants and charges are likely Wednesday, Detective Kenneth Hardin said.
Felonious assault and vandalism are the offenses listed on the police
report.

The bartender told police when he approached the trio about a damaged
advertising sign in the men?s room, it led to an altercation after one of
the men made sexual remarks about the female owner of the bar, according the
report.

After he told the men to leave, ?All three males got on top of him,
punching and hitting him with a chair,? an officer said the bartender told
him.

The men continued the brawl outside, where a bench was broken. The damage
of the sign and bench totaled $500, according to the report. The bartender
sustained minor injuries.

The three men drove off in Nichols? Hummer, leaving Nichols? credit card
behind, before police, according to authorities.

Neither the three GOP members, nor the bartender, could be reached for
comment Monday.

?I think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion,? said Jan
Collins, the owner of the Liberty Township bar.

She said she has no plans to file charges for the damage and preferred to
contain the issue.

GOP Chairman Carlos Todd said the incident was ?unfortunate,? but he is
not ready to jump to conclusions.

?Any incident like that is a reflection on the party leadership,? he
said. ?We can?t condone anything, but a person is innocent until proven
guilty.

?From what Quentin told me he was trying to protect himself, that it was
in defense more than offense,? Todd added, ?but I don?t know who started the
fight or all the details.?

Todd said Nichols has been a strong leader for the central committee and
he is not recommending his removal. The central committee could vote to
remove Nichols from his position, but no one has requested it, he said.

Nichols was cited for drunk driving Aug. 13 in Hamilton County and he was
granted limited driving privileges in September, according to court records.
He was charged with a DUI in December 2003, but it was dismissed, records
indicate.

In 2001 in Hamilton County, Dearwester was fined for disorderly conduct,
records show.

I will post an update as soon as more comes out on this story. While it is
just a local story to me, it should interest people around the country to see
how GOP big-wigs like to act. We now see the kind of values this party holds.