Elvis Piggott, a pastor and former Tampa City Council candidate who witnesses said pulled a gun at a candidate forum last week,has been arrested in connection to the incident, police said.<\/p>\n
Piggott, 37, turned himself in at Orient Road Jail Tuesday afternoon in response to a warrant. He faces charges of improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon or firearm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe wholeheartedly you should stand your ground,\u201d Piggott said in a video posted to Facebook Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Piggott pulled the firearm during a tense interaction Thursday evening after a forum for the District 5 special municipal runoff election, hosted by the Tampa Heights Civic Association. Candidates Thomas Scott and Naya Young, the top two vote-getters<\/a> in last month\u2019s special election, had been on stage minutes before the altercation.<\/p>\n In a since-deleted Facebook post after the incident Thursday, Piggott said he pulled the gun in self-defense after he was approached by a number of men.<\/p>\n Jason Marlow, who said he witnessed the incident, told the Tampa Bay Times on Friday that a conversation between Piggott and another man \u201cclearly escalates as they come closer to each other.\u201d He said he heard Piggott \u201cscreaming and yelling\u201d at the other man.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever recounting Elvis is providing in which … he had a right to fear for his life, I can say he had no such provocation,\u201d Marlow said.<\/p>\n Marlow said he saw Piggott withdraw the firearm from the right side of his waistband and aim it \u201cchest-height, out into the space in front of him.\u201d<\/p>\n Piggott said in the deleted Facebook video that he pointed the gun at the ground.<\/p>\n In a statement Tuesday, the Tampa Police Department said officers responded just before 8 p.m. on Thursday \u201cto a reported altercation involving an armed man.\u201d Officers detained Piggott that evening and later released him.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter gathering evidence and additional witness statements, detectives then consulted with the State Attorney\u2019s Office and a court-authorized warrant was issued for Piggott\u2019s arrest,\u201d read the statement.<\/p>\n In a statement Friday morning, candidate Naya Young said, \u201cMy heart goes out to those who experienced this shocking and unprovoked act of violence and intimidation in the course of their civic participation. The sanctity of our electoral process must always be held in the highest regard.\u201d<\/p>\n