A failed anti-vaccine politician who once posed wearing a mask as underwear has been found guilty of “scalping” a police officer during a fight outside a pub.
Raina Cruise, 39, a South African Senate candidate for the Informed Medical Opinions party, was found guilty of assaulting a county police officer on Thursday in the Adelaide District Court.
The court heard Cruise launched a violent attack on Constable Anthea Beck outside the Exeter Hotel in central Adelaide on the night of October 17, 2021, leaving the officer with a large section of hair torn from her scalp.
The incident was recorded on police body camera.
Raina Cruise (pictured), 39, South Africa’s Senate candidate for the Informed Medical Opinions party, was found guilty of assaulting a police officer in the Adelaide District Court on Thursday.
The court heard Cruise launched a violent attack on Constable Anthea Beck outside the Exeter Hotel in central Adelaide on the night of October 17, 2021, leaving the officer with a large section of hair torn from her scalp (in the photo).
Cruise pleaded guilty to assaulting two members of the venue’s security staff after a disagreement over his Covid mask policy.
However, he pleaded not guilty to intentionally causing harm to Constable Beck when he later intervened.
Prosecutors revealed she had a previous conviction for assaulting another police officer in 2005 and requested that her bail be revoked ahead of sentencing. The advertiser reported.
The court heard the exterior of Exeter’s Cruise Hotel was “argumentative, belligerent, unpleasant and downright dangerous”.
Prosecutors alleged he compared police to “Nazi Germany” before “latching on” to Officer Beck, when he allegedly stated “I’ll crush you one by one, bitch” while pulling his hair.
Cruise’s attorneys argued that Officer Beck had acted illegally because she did not tell Cruise that he was under arrest.
Officer Beck admitted that he had punched Cruise twice during the incident.
“She has a handful of my hair, she has control of my head, she’s shaking me and it hurts, she’s on top of me and I can’t get out,” Officer Beck said.
“I was losing control of the situation, I was afraid for my safety, I was very afraid, because I had this person who was quite heavy on top of me.
‘I’m alone, no one is coming, I have to get out of this situation because how many times do I let the road hit the back of my head?’
Judge Joanne Deuter sided with Officer Beck, claiming that Cruise’s “actions and verbal threats made it impossible for Beck to fully disclose the reason for his arrest.”
Cruise, who campaigned on a platform of abolishing vaccine mandates and removing fluoride from the water supply, declined to comment outside of court (his campaign flyer is pictured).
She jokingly posed for a photo in a Covid mask bra and said she had finally discovered its use (pictured).
“I am (also) satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that, in all the circumstances, Officer Beck was acting in the exercise of her official duties as a police officer,” Judge Deuter said.
The judge added: “I am convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, based on all the evidence, that the defendant intended to harm Officer Beck.”
Cruise, who campaigned on a platform of abolishing vaccination mandates and removing fluoride from the water supply and now describes herself as a “naturopath and homeopath,” declined to comment outside of court.
She previously jokingly posed for a photo wearing a Covid mask bra and said she had finally discovered its use.
On the day of his sentencing, Cruise shared a YouTube link to a two-and-a-half-hour webinar he gave earlier this month warning about the risks of vaccines.
It has 47 views.