LEWISTON – Stavros Mendros just wanted to keep the peace. The Republican county caucus was over and most participants had left. But there was still a small group of people there and an argument was getting heated.
“There were some pretty nasty words being said. I just kept trying to calm it down, calm it down,” Mendros, a city councilor, said Monday, two days after a scuffle at the Republican caucus. “The whole way it developed and exploded just made no sense.”
Bruce Boutilier, 40, of Auburn was charged with assault after Saturday afternoon’s fracas at the Multi-Purpose Center on Birch Street. He is accused of swatting at Georgia Chomas, a 61-year-old cousin of Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, in an attempt to knock a phone out of her hands as she tried to call police.
“It knocked her back,” Mendros said. “Even if he was just trying to knock the phone out of her hands, that’s unacceptable.”
When police responded, the scene had calmed down and all the involved parties were still there. Police wrote a summons for Boutilier, a former professional fighter who is listed as 6 feet, 4 inches tall and 325 pounds, charging him with assault. He is expected to appear in court in April.
Mendros said it was later revealed that Boutilier is a Democrat. The meeting Saturday was scheduled for Androscoggin County Republicans, and the meeting had been orderly until the argument at the end.
Republican activist Rosemarie Butler said she saw the mix-up, but declined to comment.
“I’m not getting into this,” she said.
James Simones was also at the caucus. He said he left the Multi-Purpose Center at the end of the meeting and did not sense any hostilities developing.
“We had left and didn’t hear about it until later,” Simones said. “It’s unfortunate what happened.”
Chomas of Auburn and Boutilier could not be reached for comment about the confrontation. Chomas was not seriously hurt in the mix-up.
Boutilier became a licensed fighter after winning the heavyweight division of the 1994 Tough Man competition at what was then the Central Maine Civic Center. He trained in New Mexico before returning to Maine, where his career in the ring was ended by illness.
Witnesses said Boutilier and another man began arguing with Chomas about political matters as people were leaving the Multi-Purpose Center. In a tense political climate, Mendros said disagreements are common while violence is not.
“The whole thing was an aberration,” he said. “We’ve all got frustrations, but that’s no excuse for what happened.”
Comments are no longer available on this story