Castro Valley man allegedly cursed Trump, tried to stab GOP congressional candidate

Farzad Fazeli, 35, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to stab a Republican Congressional candidate at the Castro Valley Fall Festival on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. Farzad Fazeli, 35, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to stab a Republican Congressional candidate at the Castro Valley Fall Festival on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. Photo: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Photo: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Castro Valley man allegedly cursed Trump, tried to stab GOP congressional candidate 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Castro Valley man shouting profanities about President Trump attacked a Republican congressional candidate who was working an election booth at a town festival, threatening him and trying to stab him with a switchblade, authorities and the candidate said Tuesday.

Farzad Vincent Fazeli, 35, was jailed after the alleged Sunday attack on Rudy Peters at the Castro Valley Fall Festival. Alameda County prosecutors charged Fazeli on Tuesday with a felony count of making criminal threats and misdemeanor counts of exhibiting a deadly weapon and possessing a switchblade.

No one was seriously injured. In an interview, Peters said he had never been concerned about his safety prior to Sunday, though his wife has often warned him to be careful.

“It’s a shame,” he said. “People are just polarized right now, and this country’s divided and it’s just a mess. It shouldn’t be that way.”

Sheriff’s deputies responded at about 3:45 p.m. to a report of a possible knife attack at the festival on Castro Valley Boulevard. According to officials, witnesses told deputies that Fazeli approached Peters in an “aggressive manner” at his booth, and made “disparaging remarks” about the GOP and “elected officials.”

“All of a sudden we hear someone screaming, “F— Trump, f— Trump!” Peters recalled. He said the man raised his middle finger and was “standing right in front of the booth.”

Peters had been sitting with Joseph Grcar, a Republican state Assembly candidate. He said they were both “kind of shocked” by the outburst, but that the man seemed like he was walking off. “The next thing you know,” Peters said, “he stops and turns around and says, ‘I’ll show you,’ and runs at the booth.”

Click through to see violent crimes reported by Bay Area cities in 2016, starting with the cities that reported the highest incidents of violent crime. Statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2016. Click through to see violent crimes reported by Bay Area cities in 2016, starting with the cities that reported the highest incidents of violent crime. Statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2016. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle Photo: Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Bay Area cities that reported the most and least violent crimes 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

Peters said the man grabbed a coffee cup from the table and threw it at him, prompting Peters to come around the table and “grab him.” Peters said he threw him to the ground before the suspect hopped back up, reached into his pocket and grabbed the switchblade.

“He’s screaming, ‘I’m gonna kill you, motherf—er!’” Peters said. “He had the knife, but the blade wouldn’t shoot out.”

A sheriff’s deputy said in a court affidavit that Fazeli threatened to use the pink switchblade on Peters but “could not open it.”

Peters said he grabbed a sign from a nearby cupcake booth and braced to use it as a shield. Someone stepped in and urged the attacker to calm down, Peters said, before he left the booth.

Peters reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Office, which had deputies seated a few booths away. Fazeli was soon detained at a nearby bank, officials said.

Peters is running for the 15th Congressional District of California, which represents Hayward and the surrounding area and eastern Alameda County, and is a supporter of President Trump. Peters’ website advertises “MAGA” on its home page, an acronym for Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”

He is running against Democratic incumbent Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin. In a tweet Tuesday, Swalwell wrote he was “glad to hear Mr. Peters is okay.”

“But it’s NEVER okay to use violence to settle political disagreements (or any disagreement),” the tweet continued.

Fazeli has past convictions in Alameda County for burglary and battery, records show. On his Facebook page, he criticized Trump for “complacency” following this year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

Fazeli is licensed to work as a security guard in California, according to state documents.

Chronicle Staff Writer Gwendolyn Wu contributed to this report.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy