LITTLE FALLS, Minn. -- A man who co-founded an anti-racist organization in North Dakota has been charged with pepper-spraying two cops here this month.
Scott Patrick Garman said issues with his mental health led to the incident on July 7 and that he is in a treatment program.
The 46-year-old said that after the incident he stepped back from his responsibilities as director of UnityND, the anti-racist organization he helped start. The organization found a target in white supremacist Craig Cobb, who in 2013 tried to turn the town of Leith, N.D., into a whites-only enclave.
Garman was at the forefront of the fight against Cobb, leading a major rally in Leith against him in 2013. Cobb left the town the next year.
Now Garman faces a new challenge -- two felony charges and a gross misdemeanor charge filed in district court in Morrison County, Minn., where he lives.
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"I'm kind of just taking a step back from everything in my life and trying to get things in order and make sure something like this doesn't happen again," he said.
A criminal complaint alleges Garman used bear-grade pepper spray against two officers who responded to his home in the early hours of July 7 after he called 911 to complain about a previous interaction with police.
When the two officers arrived at Garman's residence, Garman was sitting on the front steps holding a pepper spray canister, which he refused to put down, the complaint alleges.
The officers tried to use a Taser on Garman and he sprayed them both, the complaint alleges. The officers then beat Garman with batons and arrested him.
Prosecutors charged him with two counts of fourth-degree assault and one count of obstructing the legal process with force. Garman has not yet entered a plea.
"What led to this incident was just issues with my mental health," Garman said. He said he was under too much work-related stress and was dealing with the deaths of two people close to him.
In addition to stepping back from UnityND, he said he resigned from his teaching job so he could focus on his mental health.
He called the incident a "wake-up call" and said it was important "that people seek help before it leads to an incident like this, instead of waiting and letting things pile up."
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UnityND remains active, Garman said. It recently hosted its second annual Unityfest in Fargo.
Cobb remains active, too. In June, he said he was eyeing the small town of Antler, N.D., as a potential new location for his white supremacist community.
