Larry Cirignano, the executive director of Catholic Citizenship, a Boston-based Catholic organization, has been charged with assaulting Sarah Loy, a same-sex marriage supporter who attended a rally against gay marriage in Worchester, Mass., organized by Catholic Citizenship and VoteOnMarriage, both anti-gay organizations.

Larry Cirignano, 50, Catholic Citizenship’s leader, led the crowd Saturday in the Pledge of Allegiance, then allegedly saw Loy and lunged at her, tackling her to the ground.

“You need to get out. You need to get out of here right now,” he threatened as he pushed her to the ground, her head slamming against the concrete sidewalk, according to the Worchester Telegram & Gazette.

…snip…

Tom Lang, a gay-marriage supporter in Loy’s group, commented on the aggressiveness of the alleged attack.

“What was so unusual and calculated about Larry Cirignano’s assault on Sarah Loy was that he left the podium area right after he gave his speech and pushed Sarah to the ground, then he returned back to the podium to stand next to Evelyn Reilly and Kris Mineau as they waited for Ambassador Flynn.”

“This was not your average ‘heated moment.’ This was a premeditated, aggressive and uncalled-for assault by the president of the Catholic Citizenship on a young lady who was exercising her right to assemble, protest and voice her free speech.”

Cirignano, of course, denies any wrongdoing:

In a statement e-mailed to reporters, Cirignano claimed he just “escorted the lady back into the crowd. . . . I never touched her shoulders and she apparently thought that she could draw a foul like it was a basketball game by falling down.

“Great theater, not Academy Award material,” he said.

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