Florida

Man Charged With Attacking Disabled Man in Minion Costume on Florida Boardwalk

A store owner and another man helped detain the alleged assailant until officers arrived, police said

What to Know

  • Police say Jamie Roehm was costumed as a yellow, cylindrical Minion and working outside Jungle George's on Daytona Beach's boardwalk.
  • Police said witnesses encouraged 25-year-old Ryan Nihart on during the alleged attack.
  • Nihart, who reportedly asked Roehm if he wanted to wrestle, said on YouTube he was trying to make a "funny" video

A self-proclaimed social media prankster has been charged with attacking a person with disabilities who was dressed as a Minion cartoon character on a popular Florida boardwalk Sunday.

Police said Jamie Roehm, partially blind and mentally disabled, was dressed as one of the yellow, cylindrical Minions while working outside Jungle George's, a shop on Daytona Beach's boardwalk, that evening when Ryan Nihart allegedly approached him.

Roehm can be seen being spun around, kicked and slammed to the pavement in the Minions suit in video cited by police and obtained by NBC affiliate WESH.

Police said witnesses encouraged Nihart — a 25-year-old who appears to call himself Bouje Ratche on social media — during the alleged attack. Roehm told officers that he told Nihart he wanted to stop. 

According to an interview Roehm gave to The Daytona Beach News Journal, Nihart asked him if he wanted to wrestle, but Roehm said no and could be seen on camera shaking his head.

The store owner and another man helped detain Nihart until officers arrived, police said. Nihart was arrested on charges of battery and criminal mischief and released Monday on his own recognizance.

Nihart told police he was playing a prank, according to the News Journal. The two other people who approached with Nihart left the scene and were not arrested.

In a YouTube video posted days after the incident, Nihart apologized and called the event a "big misunderstanding" and said he was trying to make a "funny" video.

Roehm — who has worked at the store for the last year — declined medical treatment, saying he was mostly bruised, the News Journal reported. The store owner told police the $300 minion suit was destroyed.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us