ASBURY PARK — Police arrested a 22-year-old Scotch Plains man who allegedly pepper-sprayed a transgender non-binary person at a sign-making party held on the boardwalk in advance of the Stand Against Hate rally that was held Monday in the city's Springwood Park.

Morris May, a self-described former progressive who has shifted to the right, was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose after an alleged altercation with Long Branch resident Allie Kolarik on Sunday night. May was released on his own recognizance to await a court date scheduled for Oct. 17.

Reached by phone after his release, May said he went to Asbury Park with his brother William, 20, after hearing about the sign-making party that LGBT activists were holding at a gallery on the boardwalk called Gift. His brother and May were carrying a "Trump 2020" sign and approached a group of LGBT activists who were outside the gallery, he said.

"My brother and I are both hard-core conservatives," May said, adding that he supports three things: "liberty, free speech and the Republican Party."

May was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character that has become a symbol of the alt-right. The shirt said "For those about to MAGA we salute you!" MAGA is an acronym for "Make America Great Again," a slogan that Donald Trump introduced during his 2016 campaign and has continued to use during his presidency. His brother was wearing a Trump T-shirt, May said.

The two groups began arguing, and May then sprayed one of the activists, police said.

May acknowledged that he used the pepper spray, but said he did so in self-defense. May believes that leftist activists are more prone to violence than right-wingers, so he carried pepper spray to protect himself, he said.

"I did do that," May said. "This person, I don't know if it was a woman or a man, came up to me and violated my personal space. She called me a Nazi and began screaming in my face. I told her to back up and I gave her one last warning before I sprayed it on her or it."

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Kolarik, 34, told the Asbury Park Press that she was the victim of the pepper-spraying.

"He was saying, 'I hate liberals, I hate you people,' " Kolarik said. " 'You're trying to take away our rights.' When I asked him, 'What rights?' he had no answer."

Kolarik said she was wearing glasses at the time, which helped protect her. After being sprayed, she went into the bathroom of the gallery and rinsed off and did not seek medical attention.

May said he walked away and split up from his brother right after the incident. Minutes later, the Asbury Park police car rolled up, slapped the handcuffs on him and took him to headquarters, he said.

May said he was read his Miranda rights and questioned by police. After being charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, he was released after about six hours in police custody. Both charges are indictable offenses, according to May.

May was apparently happy with the attention he received, however. On Monday afternoon, he posted on his Facebook page: "Got myself an interview on NJ 101.5," a radio station on the FM dial.

May would not say whether he would plead not guilty when he has his first court appearance on Oct. 17, or whether he planned to hire a lawyer.

His father is Chinese and his mother Jewish, so he can't be a Nazi, he said. Although he is acquainted with Judaism, he considers himself a Christian who follows the Greek Orthodox church.

As for the Pepe the Frog symbol, May said it's just a cartoon character, not a symbol of the alt-right, as many have suggested. "Pepe the Frog is not racist. He was not created for the purpose of being a race symbol," May said.

Christian Fuscarino, the executive director of Garden State Equality, a gay rights group, credited the Asbury Park police with a quick response in arresting May. Fuscarino said he was "disturbed" by the incident.

"I consider Asbury Park to be one of the few safe havens for LGBT people in New Jersey," he said. "It's extremely disturbing that an incident like this took place, but I am confident that love and solidarity and understanding is always stronger than hate."

Fuscarino estimated that about 1,000 people attended the Stand Against Hate rally in Springwood Park on Monday morning. The rally was called in response to the recent violent clash in Charlottesville, Va., between neo-Nazis and anti-fascist demonstrators, which left one woman dead and 19 people injured.