SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A woman who traveled across the country after turning her vandalized Volkswagen Beetle into a symbol of gay pride was attacked by a man while she stood in line at a Syracuse post office, police said.

Erin Davies, 38, the owner of the gay pride car, said on Facebook Friday that she traveled with her car to 50 states, talking to people about the vandalism and hate without ever being attacked herself.

"It does shift things when things like this happen physically," she wrote.

The altercation happened Saturday at the Colvin Elmwood Post Office at 2200 S. Salina St., said Maureen Marion, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service.

Davies was in line shortly after the post office opened at 8:30 a.m. when a man, later identified as Casey White, entered, according to a police report written by Syracuse Police Officer Tracy Greco.

"The assailant did not appear to wait in line but approached the victim directly," Marion said.

White spit on the floor near Davies so loudly that a post office employee noticed and asked White if he had just spit on the floor, according to the police report. White is accused of pointing at Davies and saying "No, I spit at this bitch."

"When he said that I was shocked, said nothing, and looked stunned," Davies wrote on a Facebook page she maintains.

Then, according to the police report, Davies asked White -- who she did not know -- why he was being aggressive toward her. White and Davies stood face to face. He is accused of putting his hand on her forehead and pushing her.

Post office employees ordered White to leave and escorted him to the exit.

"Moments later, Davies stated that White turned around and charged after her," the report said.

Davies wrote on her Facebook page that White said he would be "waiting outside and would beat me up outside," and that he was going to kill her. During the incident Davies jumped over the counter at the post office to get away from White, she said.

White tried to crawl over the counter before being restrained and escorted out, the police report said.

Greco, the police officer, found White about a block away from the post office. Then, according to Davies' Facebook post, White said "Who drives a Fagbug on Salina Street I don't understand why you drive that car?"

White, 49, of 708 James St., was charged with second-degree harassment, a violation.

In 2007 Davies' Volkswagen Beetle was spray-painted in red with the words, "fag," and "u r gay," while parked near her apartment in Albany. The car had a rainbow sticker on it.

Related: Attempt to intimidate gay artist has become inspiration for the Syracuse woman's work

Instead of scrubbing it off, Davies let the paint dry and drove across the country for 58 days, talking to people and filming their reactions to the car and its message. Her 2009 documentary, "Fagbug," was shown at dozens of film festivals.

"After 9 years of doing Fagbug, I took comfort in the fact that no one ever attacked me physically," Davies wrote. "I went to all 50 states and never had that happen."