Man charged with fifth-degree assault in incident at the Whipple Building

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged Christopher Ostroushko, 51, with one count of fifth-degree assault for his actions during an incident at the Whipple Building on April 11.

Mr. Ostroushko forcefully shoved the victim in the back, head first to the ground. After a thorough review of the available evidence, the fifth-degree assault charge was determined to be appropriate and was filed Wednesday, April 29.

Insufficient evidence led HCAO to decline charges against three other individuals arrested as part of this incident.

“This is the second fifth-degree assault charge stemming from confrontations at Fort Snelling since December,” Hennepin County Mary Moriarty said. “We are committed to protecting the right to protest across the entire county, including at Whipple, but violent conduct is unacceptable.”

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office previously charged Zak X with fifth-degree assault in December for punching an individual during a protest at Fort Snelling.

HCAO has dismissed over 40 cases against other individuals who were “tab-charged” by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office related to protest conduct at Whipple. Misdemeanor cases that have been tab-charged by law enforcement officers are not submitted to HCAO for review before charging and can only be dismissed by HCAO once they are assigned a court date.

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