Ex-judge tries to slug protester during heated argument over Columbus statue

A retired Chicago judge was caught on video taking a swing at a protester this Saturday during a confrontation at a statue of Christopher Columbus in Little Italy that hours earlier had been vandalized, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Robert Bertucci is seen on the video getting increasingly heated while talking to the male protester. He was restrained by police officers who later let him go.

According to the Sun-Times, Bertucci is still a practicing attorney and was a Cook County judge for 25 years before retiring in 2018. The unidentified protester told the Sun-Times that he's not sure if he'll press charges.

“Going forward, I definitely feel like this is going to be something that is going to push me to feel more…ready to fight this battle,” the protester said. “Sometimes it does feel hopeless but there’s been a lot of support that I’ve gotten, more than hate, and it’s clear to me [that] the people who got my back understand me.”

An activist who filmed the encounter said the protester and Bertucci had been discussing “Columbus and the idea of institutional racism.”

Watch the video below: