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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

SA sen. charged with assault

A Student Association senator accused of assault and weapons charges appeared in D.C. Superior Court Friday for a status hearing.

Senior Isabella Bacardi was arrested for assault with a dangerous weapon – a felony charge – at McFadden’s Saloon Oct. 21. Bacardi is accused of hitting a 29-year-old Alexandria, Va., resident on the head with a glass object, a court document states.

The charge has since been lowered to misdemeanor assault and possession of a prohibited weapon, said Channing Phillips, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office in D.C.

Bacardi declined comment on the alleged incident in a phone interview with The Hatchet.

Bacardi has been an SA senator from the School of Public Health since last academic year. She appeared in court Friday morning to schedule a hearing for Feb. 15, when prosecutors will have had a chance to meet with additional witnesses.

Michelle Lindsay, the 29-year-old alleged victim, said she believes the glass object was a beer bottle but added she did not see it because of the angle of the reported incident. Lindsay said she does not plan to press civil charges.

“I have no desire to be connected to this case,” Lindsay said. “(Bacardi) is a total stranger to me and I want to keep it that way.”

Lindsay said she will not meet with Bacardi for mediation and would only talk to her on the phone.

Police reports state Lindsay attempted to intervene in a fight between two other girls when Bacardi pulled her hair and struck her in the head. She was then treated for minor head injuries at GW Hospital and released the next day, according to police and court records.

James O’Dea, Bacardi’s attorney, said he is confident his client is being unfairly targeted.

“I am sure that once the government hears from our objective witnesses that they will determine – as I have – that the charges should be dismissed,” O’Dea said.

Brand Kroeger, the SA’s executive vice president and chairman of the senate, said conviction in a criminal court does not preclude a student from serving in office.

Possession of a prohibited weapon is a charge added to an assault case to specify the weapon used in an attack, Phillips said.

“D.C. statute states anything that you use in a prohibited manner can be considered a prohibited weapon,” he said. “Even a writing pen could be considered prohibited under certain circumstances.”

Representatives from McFadden’s also declined comment, citing current legal proceedings.

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