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Former Pepole's National Party (PNP) caretaker turned Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) member Lawrence Rowe is facing his second criminal charge in two months, this time for allegedly assaulting a 66-year-old woman.

Rowe, 37, was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm on July 18, following an alleged altercation in which he reportedly pushed the woman to the ground, injuring her right knee.

Superintendent Beresford Williams, head of the Kingston Central Police Division, confirmed the charge. Rowe is scheduled to appear before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on August 31.

This incident follows a previous charge of assault at common law laid against Rowe on June 2, after a viral video showed him confronting a man with a knife during a heated exchange. The man later reported the matter to police. Rowe was granted station bail in that case.

The charges come in the wake of Rowe's switch from the PNP to the JLP, after he was removed as the PNP's representative for Kingston Central and replaced by retired police officer Steve McGregor. Rowe has since become active with the JLP and was a speaker at a party rally on Sunday.

Meanwhile, police confirmed that PNP caretaker for St Thomas West, Hubert Williams, and three other party activists have also been charged with assault and obstruction following an alleged clash with police in Danvers Pen last Friday. They are to appear in the St Thomas Parish Court on August 13.

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