WASHINGTON, August 14. /TASS/. The US government is trying to get as much information as possible about the circumstances of the detention of American citizen Joseph Tater in Moscow and is refraining from commenting on the case so far, US State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
"We are aware of these reports of another American citizen being arrested in Russia. We are working to get as much information [on this case] as we can, working to ascertain the consular situation and see if consular access is available," the diplomat said. "But I don't want to speculate beyond that <...>," Patel added when asked to clarify what the US government’s view of what happened.
The press service of Moscow's Meshchansky court earlier told TASS that US citizen Joseph Tater, who attacked a policeman, was detained for 15 days under the article on hooliganism.
Earlier it was reported that police officers detained a foreigner who violated public order in a hotel on Samarskaya Street. He behaved aggressively, cursed, used obscenities. The American was detained and taken to the police station for further investigation. At the police station, the foreigner hit a policeman. The man was charged with an administrative offense under the article on petty hooliganism. The Russian Investigative Committee also opened a criminal case on the charge of using violence against a public official, an offense punishable by up to five years in prison.