A US politician was arrested last week for assault after throwing a live tarantula at a tenant who refused to leave her apartment.
Marisa Simonetti, a candidate running for office in Hennepin County, Minnesota, told NBC News that she has been having problems for some time with a new tenant occupying a room in her home.
“She had been at my house for less than two weeks when she started sending me two- or three-paragraph text messages and yelling at people on the phone at 10:30 p.m. for an hour,” Ms.me Simonetti.
Faced with her new roommate’s disturbing behavior, she said, she was concerned for her own safety and that of her son. So she decided to break the Airbnb reservation and ask her to leave.
The tarantula attack allegedly occurred on a Thursday, when Jackie Vasquez, the tenant, was supposed to be leaving the premises for good. The police reportedly came three times before intervening and informing Mme Vasquez that she was in a trespassing situation. Rather than cooperate, she barricaded herself in a room, refusing to come out, according to the owner.
“I thought, how far is she going to go? Is she going to hurt me or my son? I can’t stand this here,” the owner said. The police were unable to help her, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.
Inspired by the movie Mom I missed the planeshe said, Mme Simonetti went to the pet store to buy a tarantula to scare away the unwanted tenant.
Mme Vasquez claims the tarantula, among other objects, was thrown at him while Mme Simonetti said she “gently tipped it down the stairs,” not wanting to hurt the creature. She didn’t expect to be arrested for that.
Online jail records show she was charged with fifth-degree assault and domestic battery, both of which carry minor penalties. She was released Monday afternoon. M’s roomme Vasquez was vacant when she returned, she said.
