It wasn’t like any normal Tuesday night for Attorney General Tim Fox. Fox was in Billings for an energy summit when an unexpected fire alarm went off in his hotel room around midnight. John Barnes with the Attorney General’s Office said Fox and others went outside per the evacuation plan and ran into a strange individual.

"Somebody else from the hotel, I'm thinking he was from the bar, also exited. This person was heavily intoxicated. The Billings PD has indicated that this person had been refused service for more drinks from the bar," Barnes said. "So he was pretty upset. He was looking for someone to take his anger out on and he picked one of the closest bystanders there who was outside the hotel."

Barnes said Fox and others stepped in to defend the bystander, but not without a bit of a struggle.

"They were able to subdue this guy, flip him and get him on the ground, and hold him until law enforcement came. The intoxicated man did cold-cock Tim in the face," Barnes said. "It wasn't too bad; There wasn't any bruising or anything like that. Law enforcement came and arrested him, but it was an interesting event...Not what anyone had planned."

Barnes said Fox has healed fine, with a little ice, of course, and the man remained in jail overnight.

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