Philly counterprotest woman charged with allegedly striking police horse at conservative rally

A Philadelphia woman attending an ACT for America rally in Harrisburg was arrested last weekend when she allegedly struck a Pennsylvania State Police horse in the side of the neck with a flag pole.

According to police, Lisa Joy Simon, 23, was arrested on Saturday after she “used a flag pole with a silver nail at the top of the pole” to strike a police horse named Sampson in the neck at about 11:32 a.m.

Simon was in attendance, police said, at one of several marches held in protest of alleged Sharia law across the country last weekend organized by the conservative group ACT for America.

An ACT spokeswoman said Simon was not one of their members and was in attendance as part of a counterprotest.

“Our people are normally very respectful of the police. I don’t think they would purposefully stab a police horse in the neck,” spokeswoman Carrie French said. “It really sounds out of character for our people. … Other reports have said she was with Antifa.”

Law enforcement officials said the rally marchers headed north on North Third Street into Harrisburg’s midtown area, and multiple Pennsylvania State Police mounted units were working to keep the marchers from blocking the 1200 block of North Sixth Street.

At that time, police said, Simon struck the police horse, Sampson, in the neck and obstructed other officers from being able to move the crowd onto the sidewalk along that block. After the incident, police said that the officer and Sampson were able to continue to work after suffering only a minimal injury. 

Simon was arrested and charged with assault to police, taunting police animals, prohibited offensive weapons, obstruction to law enforcement function, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.