GLASTONBURY, Conn. — Editor's note: The video above initially aired on Dec. 14, 2021.
Two Glastonbury men are facing charges following a violent altercation during a Board of Education meeting in December, police said Friday.
Monte Ray McFall, a Glastonbury Board of Education member, and Mark Finocchiaro turned themselves in on arrest warrants Friday morning, police said.
McFall and Finocchiaro both face a single charge of second-degree breach of peace after the fight broke out over a meeting regarding Glastonbury High School's mascot.
During a recess of the December meeting, when the board was supposed to be voting on the request to restore the Tomahawks mascot name, those in attendance said McFall came off the stage to confront Finocchiaro.
The entire incident was recorded on a cell phone, showing the two men, face-to-face, with Finocchiaro yelling directly into McFall's face.
On a cell phone video provided to FOX61, by Miranda Beach, a Glastonbury resident, Finocchiaro can be heard saying to McFall: "That's unprofessional, why are you swearing at a citizen?"
Then, Finocchiaro said to McFall, "You're in my face?"
"Yeah, I'm in your face," McFall responded.
When Finocchiaro approached McFall, McFall pushed Finocchiaro away into the auditorium seats. Then Finocchiaro punched McFall in the face, knocking him off his feet.
After the punch was thrown, the crowd separated the two, and McFall was brought back onto the auditorium stage.
Finocchiaro was one of several residents who expressed their opinions on why they disagreed with the board removing "the Tomahawks" as the mascot and logo for the school.
The decision to phase out the mascot came over a year ago in August 2020, when all meetings were virtual, which made the public feel like they could not be properly heard.
A few days later, the Board met again and reaffirmed the discontinuation of the town's former mascot.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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