Hartford Athletic Supporter Assaulted in Pawtucket
The attack, by a fan of Rhode Island FC, took place after the game
According to reports from fans present at the scene, a Hartford Athletic fan was assaulted following the club’s nil-nil draw with Rhode Island FC on Saturday night in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It’s believed that the assault happened as fans returned to the parking lot to re-board their bus.
Between 40 and 50 Hartford Athletic fans traveled to Pawtucket on a bus chartered by the team, and an unknown number of other Hartford supporters traveled separately. At the start of the game, the fans who traveled on the bus were escorted into the stadium, but The Blazing Musket understands that no equivalent security measure was taken at the conclusion of the game, and the fans returned to the parking lot unescorted.
The story first emerged on the social media platform Reddit, where a user posted in a thread “Hope the shit head RIFC fan who decided to chase Hartford fans onto the bus and threw punches enjoys his night in the Pawtucket jail cell,” and later clarified “People were yelling shit from their cars at us the entire way and then one dipshit decided to chase down Hartford fans and threw punches at some and was immediately cuffed by police.”
Chris Behlke, president of Hartford supporters group The Bonanza, confirmed that the assault had happened and that an arrest had taken place. According to Behlke, the supporter who was attacked is “ok,” but there was no further update on their condition.
“RIFC dropped the ball with providing us security/an escort after the game back to the bus, which led to our supporter getting attacked by a fan of their team,” Behlke added.
“[W]e do not condone the violence that occurred after the game as much as we are enemies and we talk smack to each other, violence is never the case,” a representative of Defiance 1636, the supporters group for RIFC told The Blazing Musket. “Whoever this person is, Defiance hopes he never shows up to any other game after that stunt. We are truly sorry to the Hartford supporter that was injured during this altercation.”
Additionally, the representative confirmed that the individual who committed the alleged assault was not a member of their group.
“We were able to see a picture of him and we can confirm that he is not a member of Defiance 1636 but just a casual Rhode Island FC fan that was at the game,” they said.
It’s not the first time that the police have been involved with fans during El Clamico. During the 2024 season, the game at Bryant University’s Beirne Stadium was interrupted when a Hartford supporter set off fireworks in the stands. That individual was removed from the stadium, and The Blazing Musket understands that they were banned from attending future RIFC games for an indeterminate period of time.
A spokesman for Hartford Athletic declined to comment for this story. At time of publication, Rhode Island FC had not responded to a request for comment.
The Blazing Musket will have more on this story as it develops.