A controversial figure in Arizona, known for his “You Deserve Rape” campaign, was arrested Tuesday following a reported assault on a female UA student.
“Brother” Dean Saxton, a religious studies senior at UA, was arrested shortly after noon on Tuesday, according to officials with the UA Police Department.
#BrotherDean at #UofA finally arrested!! pic.twitter.com/ScGxVcipPo
— Ashlyn Maher (@AshlynMaher) September 20, 2016
“There was an incident where he apparently pushed a young lady in her chest,” Alvaro Hernandez, a spokesperson for the station, said. “He was arrested and booked on assault.”
The self-described "open-air preacher" is known for his extremely conservative messages directed at UA students but has made several appearances at ASU and events nearby.
Read more: Students protest religious demonstration
“We’ve had many incidents with him in the past,” said Hernandez. “He’s been exercising his freedom of speech as he has been for many years.”
However, this is the first time that Saxton has been arrested for his protests, Hernandez said.
Since his arrest, Saxton was released from custody before making any court appearances, on the condition that he agree in writing to attend all future court dates, intake support specialist with the Pima County Adult Detention Center Deon Marble said.
“He’s been released,” Marble said. “Pretrial released him before he even went to court.”
The next court date for Saxton, who was released shortly after 2 p.m., was not yet determined Tuesday afternoon.
The Daily Wildcat reported that Saxton would receive a year-long ban from all UA campuses.
However, officials confirmed that the ban would apply only to UA leaving open the possibility of Saxton preaching at other schools, including ASU.
“(To ban him) would be something that would have to go through ABOR to apply to all three schools,” Lt. Terry Lewis with the ASU Police Department said, referring to the Arizona Board of Regents as the final decision-makers.
Reach the reporter at ckmccror@asu.edu or follow @ckm_newson Twitter.
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