Anti-Vaccine Activist Shoves California lawmaker

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – An anti-vaccine activist has been cited in the assault of a California lawmaker who was pushed on a sidewalk near the Capitol.

Kenneth Austin Bennett livestreamed the confrontation on his Facebook. The video appears to show Bennett questioning State Sen. Richard Pan in the street about vaccines. Pan responds and continues to walk while smiling before he is shoved in the back.

The Sacramento Police Department say they cited Bennett on a misdemeanor assault charge then released him.

Pan, a Sacramento Democrat, has authored several bills that limit exemptions for child vaccinations. His efforts have drawn hundreds of anti-vaccine activists to the Capitol in protest.

Bennett has tried unsuccessfully to recall Pan and filed paperwork to run against him last year but never appeared on the ballot.