Sundance Condemns Racially Motivated Attack on Rep. Maxwell Frost at Private Park City Event

Sundance Film Festival officials issued a statement condemning the violence after representative Maxwell Frost said he was attacked at a private, non-festival event in Park City, Utah over the weekend. The incident occurred late on the night of January 23 during a party at the High West Saloon during the annual film festival.

If reported by the new york times, Frost, a Florida Democrat, publicly identified himself as the victim of what he described as a racially motivated attack, saying a man made racist comments before punching him in the face. Park City police confirmed an arrest has been made in connection with the incident.

“We strongly condemn last night’s assault and abhor any form of violence, intimidation and hate speech,” Sundance officials said in a statement released Jan. 24. “Although the incident occurred at a non-Festival-affiliated event, such behavior is intolerable and contrary to our values ​​of maintaining a welcoming and inspiring environment for all our visitors.”

Festival organizers emphasized that visitor safety remains a priority. “The safety and security of our festival attendees is always our utmost concern, and our thoughts are with Congressman Frost and his continued well-being,” the statement continued, urging anyone with information to contact local authorities.

According to Park City police, officers responded shortly after midnight to reports of an assault at High West Saloon, a distillery and bar where a private party was in progress. Danielle Snelson, a community lieutenant with the department, identified the suspect as Christian Young.

Young allegedly unlawfully entered the event after being denied entry because he did not have an invitation, police said. “Mr. Young assaulted Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost and a woman who attended the private event,” Snelson said in an email. Authorities did not immediately reveal a motive for the attack.

Young was taken into custody and booked into the Summit County Jail on charges of aggravated burglary and two counts of simple assault. Witnesses reported that the suspect made statements about being proud of being white before punching a person of color, later confirmed to be Frost.

Describing the encounter in a post on He added that the person was “heard shouting racial slurs as he drunkenly walked away,” noting he was not seriously injured and thanking venue security and police for their response.

Frost, who was elected in 2022 at age 25, became the first member of Generation Z to serve in Congress, according to his campaign website. He represents Florida’s 10th District and comes from a family with Cuban, Puerto Rican, Lebanese and Haitian roots. Frost’s family emigrated from Cuba to Florida in the early 1960s as part of a wave of Cuban refugees flown to the United States.

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