In Newport, Rhode Island, a celebration morphed into an unsettling display of unruliness and violence, as members of a wedding party found themselves entangled in an altercation with local law enforcement. According to NBC Boston, the incident occurred earlier today, when a man refused to leave a bar premises after being denied entry.
Upon arrival, the Newport police quickly found themselves confronted by a group of inebriated individuals, with tensions escalating and ultimately culminating in the arrest of five wedding party members.
As NECN reports, the situation began to unravel when the man in question, later identified as David Onik of Barrington, Rhode Island, allegedly shoved a bar employee after being denied entry. As the situation grew more heated, the presence of police officers at the scene was met with resistance from Onik's wife, Rachael Onik, who interjected herself into the exchange between her husband and the officers.
According to eyewitness reports, other members of the wedding party soon joined the fray, exacerbating the already volatile atmosphere. In one particularly alarming incident, Alexandra Flaherty of Marshfield, Massachusetts, allegedly kicked a police officer in the groin. This single act of violence sparked a chain reaction, with another man, Robert Nash, intervening and reportedly striking an officer in the face, resulting in drawn blood.
The scene went from perplexing to downright chaotic when one officer subsequently reported that someone was attempting to grab at his firearm while they tried to place Nash in handcuffs. The officer, in a state of heightened anxiety, threw a punch in response, which ultimately connected with Rachael Onik's jaw, causing her to briefly lose consciousness. Medical assistance was urgently summoned to the scene, as the other members of the wedding party faced the consequences of their respective actions.
David Onik was charged with disorderly conduct, while his wife, Rachael Onik, faced multiple charges, including two counts of simple assault, one count of resisting arrest, one count of obstructing an officer, and one count of disorderly conduct. Flaherty and Nash were both charged with assault of police officers, simple assault, resisting arrest, obstructing an officer, and disorderly conduct. A fifth individual, Olivia Costello of Milton, Massachusetts, was charged with simple assault, resisting arrest, obstructing an officer, and disorderly conduct.
