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Race-baiting Tony Daniel charged with battery after clash over one of his signs

 
Tampa police are reviewing video of a fight that erupted Friday on a street corner near the University of Tampa after two women confronted Tony Daniel, who was holding the sign and a megaphone. The city of Tampa obtained a video from a witness in a car. [Screen grab of video]
Tampa police are reviewing video of a fight that erupted Friday on a street corner near the University of Tampa after two women confronted Tony Daniel, who was holding the sign and a megaphone. The city of Tampa obtained a video from a witness in a car. [Screen grab of video]
Published July 13, 2018

It was not an uncommon sight for Tampa residents. Local provocateur Tony Daniel was standing on a street corner Friday, megaphone and racist sign in hand.

But then a woman slapped his sign, police say, and Daniel hit her in the face with his electronic megaphone. Another woman joined the brawl, which spilled into the street.

When it was over, Daniel, 60, was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon — the megaphone — and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail.

Daniel, a black man, is known for his race-baiting, often targeting African-Americans. His pickup truck displays Confederate and Nazi flags and racial slurs. His repertoire extends beyond signs. Earlier this year, in large part because of Daniel, the Tampa City Council changed its rules to ban vulgar, threatening speech at its meetings.

BACKGROUND: Racist slurs on Tampa truck shock, confuse and mislead onlookers

A motorist captured Friday's encounter on video, which was reviewed by the Tampa Bay Times. It initially shows Daniel, accompanied by a woman in a red dress, holding a sign, nearly as tall as he, that says, "Homeless (N------) go back to Africa." On the back side was another racist slur.

Standing nearby are the two women, later identified as Nayvia Tukes, 20, and Rowshana Tukes, 41, both of Brandon.

At first, the older woman appears to guide the younger woman away from the scene. But after Daniel points the megaphone in their direction, the younger woman marches toward him. That's when Nayvia Tukes slapped the sign, according to a police report.

The video shows Daniel yanking the sign back and pushing the megaphone into her face. Police said he hit her with it.

Then the older woman punched Daniel in his right eye, the police report said. He lashed out at the two with the megaphone, striking Rowshana Tukes in the head, the report said.

In the video, it appears that the actions force the women into the roadway on Hyde Park Avenue. According to the report, Daniel struck the woman on the head several more times as she retreated toward her vehicle.

Rowshana Tukes opened the driver's door of her car, and Daniel forced her inside before striking her again with the megaphone, the report said.

A bystander broke up the clash, but Nayvia Tukes sustained a minor injury on her arm, police reported.

Daniel sat in the back of a patrol car as police investigated the scene.

After a search of a manhole near where Daniel had been standing, the megaphone was seized as evidence. So was his sign.

Contact Bre Bradham at bbradham@tampabay.com. Follow @brebradham