A man was arrested in connection with the alleged pepper-spraying of two women outside of a popular queer event in North Baltimore, the second time in just under a month that he’s been charged with assault in the neighborhood.

Matthew Middleton, 34, is facing second-degree assault charges in two separate incidents that took place in Waverly. Both times, Middleton stood outside businesses holding a sign supporting President Donald Trump before the situations escalated, according to charging documents.

“This is a free country, and he can hold his sign wherever,” City Councilwoman Odette Ramos, who represents the neighborhood, said in a statement. “But he can’t expect that someone won’t say something to him.”

Ramos added that her constituents have a right to share their views, “and that’s what they did.”

Community members have alerted others about Middleton on social media, raising concerns over his behavior and calling him “dangerous.” Some expressed concern that encounters with Middleton could continue to be an issue in the neighborhood.

Attorneys with the Maryland Office of Public Defender, who are representing Middleton in the assault cases, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Middleton is being held without bond at the Central Booking Intake Facility. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 8 and 9.

Assault charges in Waverly

According to charging documents, the latest incident occurred as dozens of people were filing out of Peabody Heights Brewery on Saturday following Butch Garden, a monthly queer day party hosted by GRL PWR. Middleton stood on the corner of East 30th and Barclay streets holding a sign and wearing a camouflage bucket hat and pants, dark goggles and a balaclava. The sign read “Trump Vance make America great again.”

Middleton told police that people began to “heckle” him when he showed up with the sign. A woman walking out of the brewery said she saw a couple of people “kind of antagonizing him, but not really,” and then Middleton allegedly pepper-sprayed her and a friend, according to charging documents.

One of the women ran back into the brewery, distraught, and flushed her eyes with tap water in the bathroom, said Jocelyn, who lives in Charles Village and attended the Butch Garden event.

The whole incident was “disconcerting,” said Jocelyn, who declined to give her last name out of fear of retaliation. In a social media post, she urged people to stay away from Middleton.

Baltimore Police Officer John Vorhees responded to reports of an armed person at Peabody Heights Brewery late Saturday evening. Bystanders said Middleton had pepper-sprayed two women and had a gun in his backpack.

Vorhees, who knew Middleton had been arrested on second-degree assault charges in July, asked him, “Why does this keep happening?”

“People keep attacking me in this town,” Middleton said, according to the charging documents. Middleton initially said he only had a pocket knife, but then said he had “pepper spray and a launcher like a BB gun.”

He was arrested that evening on three charges, including for carrying and using Mace with the intent to injure and for concealing a dangerous weapon.

Middleton is facing similar charges for an incident on July 6 by Red Emma’s, a Waverly business that describes itself as “a worker cooperative bookstore, cafe, and community events space.”

According to charging documents, Thomas Christian approached Middleton, who was standing in front of Red Emma’s holding a Trump sign, and talked to him for a few moments before snatching the sign and throwing it to the ground.

Middleton then took Christian to the ground using a chokehold and struck him several times using a bat, according to charging documents.

Christian then allegedly stabbed Middleton in the left leg, and Middleton responded with pepper spray, according to charging documents.

Police responded, and both men were charged with assault.

Jennifer Cooper said she was headed toward the Giant grocery store by 32nd Street and Greenmount Avenue on July 6 when she saw Middleton “slamming” a man on the ground and beating him with a baton. He repeatedly doused the man with pepper spray, Cooper said.

Community cautious but not deterred

Eddie O’Keefe, the owner of Peabody Heights Brewery, said team members were aware of Middleton’s behavior from a previous incident.

“We are planning to take legal action to get a protective order against this person to prevent them from being near the brewery in the future,” O’Keefe said.

The next installment of Butch Garden, scheduled for Sept. 6, will go on as planned, O’Keefe said. This time, he said, they’re working to have on- and off-site security.

One attendee, who declined to share her name for fear of retaliation, said the incident was unnerving. She’s gone to pretty much every installment of Butch Garden for the past three years and has never felt unsafe.

“My fear is that this will become an act of martyrdom for him,” she said, “and then, next time, there will be more people.”

She and her friends still plan to attend the next event. This time, though, she’ll leave a bit earlier.

Ramos said the community is on “high alert,” especially given the harassment of Urban Reads, a Black-owned bookstore in Waverly, received earlier this year.

She said the State’s Attorney’s Office has given guidance to residents who want to provide an impact statement related to the alleged attacks.