A California man tried to stab a GOP congressional candidate -- but his knife didn't work

A GOP congressional candidate in California found himself in a life-threatening situation Sunday when a man tried to stab him with a switchblade at a festival, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rudy Peters, a Navy veteran who is running against Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell in California's 15th District, was at the Castro Valley Fall Festival when Farzad Fazeli attacked him.

"It's a shame," Peters told the San Francisco Chronicle. "People are just polarized right now, and this country's divided and it's just a mess. It shouldn't be that way."

What happened?

Peters was working an election booth at the fall festival when Fazeli approached. Fazeli started insulting Republicans and yelling profanities against President Donald Trump.

"All of a sudden we hear someone screaming, 'F*** Trump, f*** Trump!'" Peters said.

Peters and Republican state Assembly candidate Joseph Grear, who was also at the booth, thought that would be the end of it. But Fazeli wasn't done.

"The next thing you know, he stops and turns around and says 'I'll show you,' and runs at the booth," Peters told the Chronicle. "He's screaming, 'I'm gonna kill you, motherf***er!'"

Fazeli grabbed a cup of coffee and threw it at Peters, and Peters responded by coming around the table to restrain him. Then, Fazeli pulled out the switchblade. But, he couldn't get the blade to come out.

While Peters was protecting himself with a sign as a shield, the man left the booth after his knife failed to work. Police arrested him soon after at a nearby bank.

Fazeli was charged Tuesday with a felony count of making criminal threats and a misdemeanor count of exhibiting a deadly weapon and possessing a switchblade.

Rep. Swalwell sent his well wishes to Peters.

"I'm glad to hear Mr. Peters is okay," Swalwell wrote on Twitter. "But it's NEVER okay to use violence to settle political disagreements (or any disagreement)."

(H/T The Hill)