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Montana’s top law enforcement officer subdued an apparently intoxicated man who was throwing punches at bystanders Tuesday night after the Montana Energy Conference.

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox held the man, 34-year-old David E. Carpenter, to the ground until police could respond, said Billings Police Capt. Kevin Iffland on Wednesday.

Just before midnight, Carpenter became “belligerent and enraged” when someone went to take his drink away and he began to throw punches, Iffland said. The chief of staff for Sen. Steve Daines, Jason Thielman, was being swung at by Carpenter, and when Fox stepped in, Carpenter allegedly struck the attorney general in the face.

Fox, 58, “took him to the ground and restrained him” until police arrived, Iffland said.

Fox, a hurdler during his undergraduate days at the University of Montana, said he and others had been awakened by a fire alarm at the hotel. He got dressed and went downstairs, where a crowd of hotel guests was gathering.

Fox said he saw the man go after Thielman and his cellphone. Thielman was also attending the conference. Fox moved between the two men.