A Eugene City Council candidate was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of menacing with a gun and disorderly conduct.

Sean Dwyer, 33, of Eugene, was arrested Saturday afternoon by Eugene police related to an incident at a Buy2 store on West Broadway after he allegedly threw a beer on the ground during a dispute in the store and showed a handgun to bystanders outside.

Dwyer allegedly threatened people on the street while intimidating them to stay away from the store, Eugene police spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin said.

In an email on Monday, Dwyer said the incident happened after the staff at Buy2 "referred to my girlfriend as 'him' several times after being informed she uses female pronouns."

Dwyer said "more details will come out in time," but he is unsure about continuing his bid for city council.

"There have been aspects of my personal life that I had not anticipated being made public, such as the fact that I am dating a transgender woman," he said. "For this reason I am taking some time to speak with her and my family to decide if continuing the campaign is in the best interest of our families (sic) privacy."

According to McLaughlin, officers were called to the store in downtown Eugene at 3:22 p.m. Saturday for an unrelated report of a theft. While there, police learned Dwyer had been in a verbal altercation at the shop earlier in the day and had thrown a beer down inside the store.

There was no accusation of menacing at that time, McLaughlin said, but later, additional victims called to report Dwyer had a concealed handgun in a holster that he showed people while making threats.

"I did inform people outside the store of what just happened and advised them to shop at a store that does not discriminate against the transgender community," Dwyer said in the email. "Transgender people face a daily struggle of being ridiculed and misgendered at best and at worst physical and sexual violence."The incident at Buy2 is a perfect example of how transphobia is still very much alive and considered acceptable by many in the community."

Dwyer was arrested at 4:21 p.m. Saturday on suspicion of menacing with a gun and disorderly conduct. He was booked into the Springfield Municipal Jail because the Lane County Jail was full, and he was released sometime before Monday afternoon. He has not yet been arraigned and the date of his arraignment in Lane County Circuit Court was not immediately available.

Dwyer completed filing for his chance to serve as the councilor of Ward 1 in November. He turned in his application with 36 certified signatures. Candidate Eliza Kashinsky was the only Ward 1 candidate to have more signatures, with 37.