Charlottesville, VA (WINA) – Jason Kessler, the man leading an effort to remove Wes Bellamy from Charlottesville City Council, has been charged with misdemeanor assault.

Kessler was out getting signatures on the Downtown Mall Sunday morning when he and another man got into an argument.

The alleged victim admitted to police that he called Kessler a name when he told him he didn’t like what he saw on his clipboard, which was followed by a punch to the face.

But Kessler told police that the man hurled the insult while grabbing the clipboard, and that he hit the 53-year-old man, who is also white, in self-defense.

Kessler has been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. He will be in Charlottesville General District Court on January 31.