Police said on Monday that a man who attacked a mayor in Alabama has been charged with assault. Talladega Mayor Larry Barton reported to authorities that Benny Green of Irondale assaulted him on Saturday morning while he was getting out of a car outside a barbershop where he works part-time.
Barton, 75, said Green, 71, used a baseball bat to strike him in the head repeatedly. Green was stopped by bystanders when he tried to flee from the scene on a bicycle, the police statement read, according to the Associated Press.
Barton claims that he had no idea why Green would attack him. He added that he may be having marital problems, but denied any involvement.
This proved to be true, as the Greens are currently in the midst of divorce proceedings. Steward Springer, Green's former divorce lawyer, says that he understands why his former client would assault Barton as "as Barton was caught on hidden video having sex with Green's wife," which Barton quickly denied, according to Alabama.com.
Vestavia Hills Police said in a press release that Green had been charged with first-degree assault and is held at the municipal jail with a bond worth $150,000.
Barton and Green once appeared together on the latter's local talk show, "In the Interest of the People," according to NBC News.
