Olympian charged in Florida with battery on female fellow athlete

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — An Olympic track medalist is charged in Florida with punching a woman, a hurdler who also competed in the Olympics.

A Broward County Sheriff's Office arrest report says that Fred Kerley, 29, allegedly hit Alaysha Johnson with a closed fist at a hotel near Fort Lauderdale on Thursday. Kerley is charged with misdemeanor battery in the incident that left Johnson with a bloody nose.

Kerley won a silver medal in the 100-meter race at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and a bronze medal in the same event at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, where Johnson also competed. The arrest report says they previously had a relationship and got into a heated argument at the Florida hotel where they were staying before a track meet in the area.

Kerley's attorney, Richard Cooper, said in an email Saturday that he has “a target on his back” that leads to unfounded allegations by “fierce and sometimes jealous competitors.”

“We ask the public not to rush to judgment as the exculpatory facts eventually come to light," Cooper said. “Fred looks forward to getting back to competing and away from distractions as his legal team works to resolve these accusations.”

It's not Kerley's first brush with the law. This comes just a few months after he was arrested for allegedly punching a Miami Beach police officer on Jan 2., an incident in which police used a Taser on him. He was also charged in May with domestic battery against his wife, according to court records.

His lawyers say he is innocent of those charges as well.

FILE - Fred Kerley, of the United States reacts after finishing a men's 100-meters semifinal during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.

The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.

“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.

The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”

Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.

During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.

Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”

President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)