SUPERIOR, Mont. – A man was arrested at a Montana rodeo Saturday after he reportedly slammed a 13-year-old boy to the ground for not taking his hat off during the national anthem.
Curt James Brockway, 39, appeared in court Monday, charged with assault on a minor.
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The incident occurred as the national anthem was being played at the Mineral County Fair and Rodeo, police said. Brockway told a deputy that he had asked the boy to remove his hat out of respect for the anthem, according to court documents obtained by the Associated Press.
The boy allegedly cursed at Brockway in response, and Bockway then grabbed the 13-year-old by the throat, “lifted him into the air and slammed the boy into the ground,” the documents said.
The boy's mother told KPAX that the attack was "completely random," and that there was no exchange prior to Brockway grabbing the 13-year-old.
Witness Taylor Hennick told the Missoulian that she heard a "pop" and then saw the boy lying on the ground.
"He was bleeding out of his ears, seizing on the ground," Hennick recounted. "Just not coherent."
Brockway justified his actions to bystanders by saying the boy “was disrespecting the national anthem so he had every right to do that,” Hennick said.
The boy was taken to a nearby hospital before being flown to a children's hospital in Spokane, Washington to be treated for temporal skull fractures. The child's parents told KPAX that he was bleeding from his ear for nearly six hours following the altercation.
“It’s just a lot of pain in my head," the boy told reporters. "I don’t remember anything – the rodeo – the helicopter – nothing.”
As of Wednesday, the 13-year-old had been released from the hospital and was recovering at home.
Prosecutors recommended Brockway's bail be set at $100,000, but a judge ruled that he can be released on his own recognizance.
According to news reports, Brockway pleaded guilty to an assault with a weapon charge in 2010. Court documents said he pulled a gun on a family in a parked vehicle and said he was going to kill them. He was sentenced to 10 years, all of which were suspended.