'Trump baby' balloon slashed at Alabama-LSU game protest

Brian Lyman and The Associated Press

A Tuscaloosa man Saturday stabbed a giant balloon depicting President Donald Trump as a baby, set up by people protesting the president's visit to the Alabama-LSU game.

Tuscaloosa police charged Hoyt Hutchinson, 32, with criminal mischief in the first degree, a Class C felony. Hutchinson appeared to have discussed plans to attack the balloon in a Facebook Live post shortly before the attack.

"I'm going down here to make a scene, so y'all watch the news," he said.

Police said Saturday evening Hutchinson was being held on $2,500 bond. A Class C felony in Alabama is punishable by a year to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

Nic Gulas, the organizer of the protest, said the stabbing occurred sometime after 1:30 p.m. Video on social media showed a man being arrested outside a nearby adult store.

Jim Girvan, the organizer of a group that "adopts" out Baby Trump balloons for protests, told The Associated Press said the man charged the balloon with a knife and cut an 8-foot-long gash in the back.

A responding officer and an unidentified man stands by a Baby Trump balloon deflated by someone at Monnish Park as people were protesting President Donald Trump's visit to an NCAA college football game between Louisiana State and Alabama playing nearby in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. The towering Baby Trump protest balloon was knifed and deflated by someone unhappy with its appearance during Trump's trip to Alabama, organizers said. (Stephanie Taylor/The Tuscaloosa News via AP)

Gulas said in an interview Saturday night that Hutchinson had been hovering around the balloon without giving him a sense of threat.

Then, he said, "I looked over to the right and I saw the guy ... he is chiseling the back of the balloon and then runs off."

Gulas said he saw the suspect drop the knife before police began chasing him.

Trump was in Tuscaloosa on Saturday to watch the Alabama-LSU game. Organizers of the protest aimed to raise $4,000 to bring the balloon to Tuscaloosa, which was set up at Monnish Park in Tuscaloosa. The Trump baby balloon has been deployed at protests of the president around the world.

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The fundraising drive pulled in more than $7,800. Organizers say they will donate the excess funds to the Equal Justice Initiative.

The orange, diaper-clad, cellphone-clutching caricature of the president is often taken to Trump appearances as a way to protest him, according to the AP. Baby Trump first rose over London when local activists brainstormed a way to troll Trump.

Robert Kennedy, a volunteer "baby sitter" who brought the balloon to Tuscaloosa, said the balloon immediately began to sag after it was cut.

The day had been going mostly smoothly, Kennedy said. Some people yelled "Trump 2020" as they passed while others posed for selfies with the balloon. But then Kennedy said a man sidled up on the back of the balloon and attacked it with a knife. He ran away but was caught by police officers, Kennedy said.

Kennedy said he's accompanied Baby Trump to many appearances and never witnessed an attack on the balloon, although someone did stab a Baby Trump balloon in London earlier this year.

"It is rare to get that kind of anger," Kennedy said.

Hoyt Hutchinson, 32, was charged with criminal mischief in the first degree over the stabbing of a balloon depicting Donald Trump as a baby.

Gulas said about 250 people came through during the two-and-a-half hours the balloon was up. Despite occasional yelling from critics, he said the general mood was supportive. "It was fun," he said. "It was a light-hearted atmosphere."

Gulas also said the balloon appears to be a loss.

"The balloon costs $3,000," he said. "They’ll have insurance on that or make homeboy pay for it."

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com. Updated at 7:14 p.m. with comments from Nic Gulas. Updated at 9:13 p.m. with identification of suspect.