A Virginia high school runner who was filmed striking her opponent in the head with a baton during a track meet earlier this month is now facing a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery.
The charge was confirmed to HuffPost Thursday by attorney Bethany Harrison, the commonwealth’s attorney for Lynchburg, where the incident occurred, though no additional details were released.
Alaila Everett, of IC Norcom High School, was rounding a bend during the Indoor Track State Championships on March 4 when she was filmed striking Kaelen Tucker of Brookville High School after Tucker overtook her on the track.
Tucker stumbled to the ground after the blow and was later diagnosed with a concussion and a possible skull fracture, her mother said.
In an interview with local station WAVY, Everett said she hit Tucker by accident due to their close proximity, which caused her to lose her balance and swing her arm.
“She was so close to me … I lost my balance and when I pumped my arms again she got hit,” she told the station. “I can admit from the video that it does look purposeful, but I know my intentions and I would never hit somebody on purpose because of jealousy.”
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Everett said the incident has resulted in death threats and racist attacks by people on social media against her. The Portsmouth NAACP condemned those attacks on Tuesday while coming to her defense.
“We are committed collectively to ensuring that the criminal justice system, which we feel is not warranted in this situation, is executed fairly and based on due process,” the organization said in a statement. “Alaila is NOT AN ATTACKER and media headlines that allude towards that in any way is shameful.”