SURFSIDE, FLA. (WSVN) - A young man was arrested after, police said, he got physical with Surfside’s vice mayor.
Eighteen-year-old Joshua Epstein was taken into custody on Friday, after tensions boiled during Wednesday night’s candidate debate at Surfside Town Hall.
Cellphone video captured Surfside Vice Mayor Jeff Rose angrily yelling at Epstein.
“Keep pushing me, Josh. Keep pushing me. You already pushed me once, and it’s on camera,” said Rose.
“I haven’t touched you,” Epstein is heard saying. “If I did, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I didn’t push you, though.”
Rose accused Epstein of pushing him, but the alleged encounter wasn’t caught on camera.
The 18-year-old now faces a charge of assaulting an elected official.
On Friday, community members gathered to protest the teen’s arrest, saying it is unjust.
“Justice for Joshua, we want the truth. Justice for Joshua,” supporters chanted.
His mother, Eliana Salzhauer, is a former town commissioner and herself a critic of city leaders. She said the alleged push never happened.
“My son is a political activist in town. He’s 18, he’s very outspoken, and he’s a very outspoken critic of the current administration,” she said. “After the commissioner forum, Vice Mayor Rose came angrily charging at another resident, standing next to him and angrily getting into it with him. My son took out his phone and started recording. That’s what happened.”
Salzhauer said her son followed Rose with the camera.
Despite the disagreement over who pushed who, Epstein faces a felony.
His mother said a proper investigation wasn’t done.
“Charged with a felony, OK? With a felony. For nothing. He never laid hands on him, he never did anything,” said Salzhauer. “We have a vice mayor who is clearly willing to perjure himself to protect his reputation when he is the one who is the aggressor.”
As the finger-pointing continues, some community members said they are outraged that a citizen is behind bars.
7News reached out to Rose, but as of late Friday night, he has not responded to a request for comment.
Epstein remains behind bars at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade.
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