Singer Rod Stewart and his eldest son, Sean, were ordered to appear in court after they allegedly got into an altercation with a hotel security guard during a New Year’s Eve party in Palm Beach.
Both face a charge of simple battery and are scheduled to have an arraignment hearing on Feb. 5 before Circuit Judge Ted Booras, court records show. Attempts to reach the talent management company that represents Rod Stewart were unsuccessful Friday night.
According to a Palm Beach police report, the altercation occurred at about 11 p.m. Tuesday at the Breakers hotel. A 33-year-old security guard told police he was working a private event at the hotel in a children’s area that night when he observed a group of people causing a scene after they were denied entry.
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The security guard said that a man, later identified as Sean Stewart, 39, got about “nose to nose” distance from his face. The security guard put the back of his right hand on the younger Stewart’s chest and told him he needed to back up to create some space, the police report said.
Sean allegedly responded by shoving the security guard backward. Police say that Stewart, 74, then approached and threw a punch, striking the security guard in his left rib cage area.
Two Breakers employees told police they saw Sean push the security guard and Stewart punch the guard in the chest. Video surveillance showed the Stewarts to be the primary aggressors, police said.
The father and son acknowledged that they became agitated when the family was denied access to the event, according to the arrest report. Rod Stewart said the family was attempting to get children in their group into the event.
Stewart said that after they were denied access, the security guard became argumentative with his family, which in turn caused him to become agitated.
He apologized for his behavior in the incident, the report said.
Earlier in the day, the British singer wished his Twitter followers a "Happy 2020," adding lyrics from "Auld Lang Syne": "We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne!"
Sean, the singer's son with first wife Alana Stewart, is one of Stewart's eight children.
In 2002, Sean was sentenced to three months in jail after getting into an physical altercation with a man outside a Los Angeles restaurant. He was also ordered to attend anger management, drug and alcohol treatment courses, in addition to paying compensation.
Contributing: Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY
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