Anti-vaccine protester accused of throwing stone at head of St Vincent leader charged

Authorities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines have charged a woman accused of throwing a stone at the Caribbean nation’s Prime Minister and injuring him in the head during a protest last week. Photos showed Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves with blood on his shirt after the alleged attack.

According to Loop Jamaica, Dr. Gonsalves was on his way to the southern Caribbean nation’s parliament house in the capital of Kingstown when the incident occurred. The accused, identified as Annamay Lewis, was part of a group of protesters who had gathered outside the parliament to protest the government’s plans to implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for a majority of the country’s frontline health workers.

Dr. Gonsalves sustained a concussion and was transported to Barbados for medical treatment. And though the Prime Minister said he has been feeling dizzy and suffering from headaches as a result of the injury, he revealed he did not sustain any neurological problems after undergoing tests. He would, however, undergo additional tests in the coming weeks, The Gleaner reported.

The Prime Minister also said he believes the attack was premeditated. “I take the assault upon me not just as an injury or an act of battery,” Gonsalves said. “The intention was to hit me and it did and to cause me serious damage or indeed loss of life.”

Meanwhile, Lewis, who was arrested in the aftermath of the incident, spent the weekend in jail after she was denied bail on Friday. The accused faces a wounding charge and she is scheduled to appear before a court in the island nation on Monday.