The final Park City edition of Sundance Film Festival has been dealing with ongoing political unrest in the United States as a Florida congressman said he was punched in a racist attack at a festival gathering over the weekend.
Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost shared on social media that he was “assaulted by a man at Sundance Festival who told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face”.
Frost continued: “He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off. The individual was arrested and I am OK. Thank you to the venue security and Park City PD for assistance on this incident.”
The incident took place on Friday (January 23) during CAA’s festival celebration at the High West Saloon on Park Avenue, a popular venue for events throughout the festival.
Screen has spoken to someone who was present at the event, who wished not to be named, and said that they saw a man assault three people at the venue, before leaping over a fence to leave the facilities. He was later arrested.
The witness did not hear the man use racial insults towards Frost, but said they had spoken to other attendees who did.
A statement from the Park City Police Department has identified the man as Christian Young, and said that he “unlawfully” entered the Saloon having been turned away for not having an invitation.
The festival has responded to the incident with a statement, saying: “We strongly condemn last night’s assault and abhor any form of violence, harassment, and hate speech. While the incident occurred at a non-festival-affiliated event, such behavior is intolerable and against our values of upholding a welcoming and inspiring environment for all our attendees.”
“The safety and security of our festival attendees is always our chief concern, and our thoughts are with Congressman Frost and his continued well-being. We encourage anyone with additional information on this matter to contact the Park City Police Department.”
Frost is US representative for Florida’s 10th congressional district. Elected in 2023 at 25 years old, he became the youngest member of the US Congress.
Too much
The incident comes as the US remains on high alert over political violence following the fatal shootings in Minneapolis of Alex Pretti, 37, on Saturday morning, and Renee Good on January 7, both by US federal agents.
Natalie Portman shed tears over the ongoing violence in the country while on the press line for Sundance title The Gallerist, describing those protesting ICE as “incredible neighbours and citizens” and saying the violence “is just too much, it needs to end”.
Natalie Portman cries about the state of America, following the fatal shooting of a nurse by federal agents at ICE protests in Minneapolis. pic.twitter.com/XaXZZKysMf
— Screen International (@Screendaily) January 25, 2026
Portman is one of several high-profile talent wearing ‘ICE Out’ badges at Sundance, which were also seen at the Golden Globes earlier this month.
Olivia Wilde wore the badge at the world premiere of her new film The Invite on Saturday afternoon. As the cast and crew gathered alongside Wilde for a group photo on the press line, Wilde was asking publicists if they could find extra badges for all those in the photo.
Both the Minneapolis shooting and the Park City assault have been regular discussion topics at the festival.
“You have to hope that the revulsion that’s growing in this country towards the perpetrators of this kind of violence will lead to a change, because we certainly need a change,” said Salman Rushdie, subject of Alex Gibney’s Knife: The Attempted Murder Of Salman Rushdie, about the 2022 knife attack on Rushdie. The film debuted on Sunday 25 at Sundance. “I hope that the way this film relates to this much larger subject could give people a point of entry into thinking about it.”
Rushdie told Screen that the footage of the attack upon him in the film is deliberately shocking. “The purpose is to shock, and say, ‘Think about this, is this the world you want to live in?’”
“I can only say I hope America goes to a better place, but right now we’re looking at a very dark tunnel,” said Gibney. “It’s dark because those in power are using it to try to provoke a reaction and to cement their power, and they’re willing to kill people for asserting their first amendment rights. So it’s a very fraught moment; it’s a moment when we all have to be engaged and we all have to raise our voices, or our ability to speak will be ended.”
Rushdie showed neither the attack on him nor recent US violence had removed his dry sense of humour. Asked by a journalist how the Knife project began, he immediately deadpanned, “It began when someone ran up on stage and stuck a knife in me.”
The troubled times have also not prevented the attendance of major stars at the festival, with a surprise Sunday appearance from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to promote Alysa Nahmias’ Cookie Queens, on which they are executive producers.
Sundance Film Festival runs until February 1.
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