It's a chilling photograph, one taken at an anti-Bush protest a month ago and published in the Portland Tribune. A spitting mad Bush supporter appears to be stiff-arming a protester in the face. The protester is arching backwards, attempting to pull her attacker's hand away.

Yet, in spite of the photograph and statements from no fewer than six witnesses, the Beaverton City Attorney has decided not to prosecute the Bush supporter.

"This woman physically assaults me," claims Kendra Lloyd-Knox, "and she's gotten away with it."

The incident occurred on the Friday when both President George W. Bush and presidential hopeful John Kerry dropped simultaneously into town. While Kerry held court) near the Hawthorne Bridge, Bush appeared at a private luncheon in Beaverton at Southridge High School, where several dozen protesters were lining the sidewalks.

Lloyd-Knox says the middle-aged woman who eventually attacked her had spent the morning prowling the line of Bush supporters and anti-Bush activists. "She'd been harassing us all day," Lloyd-Knox recalls. "She was shouting at one protester to support our troops when I walked up and told her, 'maybe you should support the whole effing world.'"

At that point, the woman reached across the barricade between the two groups and yanked Lloyd-Knox's bandana from her head and pulled it across her face.

According to Lloyd-Knox, the woman then leaned back and slammed Lloyd-Knox across her face with the base of her hand. This was the money shot; a photo ran a few days later on the front page of the Tribune.

Apparently the woman lunged at Lloyd-Knox again, only to be stopped when her brother stepped between the two. At least six witnesses provided statements to the Beaverton City Attorney supporting Lloyd-Knox's version of the fracas.

Even so, the city attorney has decided not to press even misdemeanor charges for assault or harassment. Claiming they receive "thousands" of such complaints a day, a spokesperson from the city attorney's office claimed there simply wasn't enough evidence. He went on to explain it must be proven that the alleged assailant "intended to cause harm." The spokesperson said there was no indication of such intent and that Lloyd-Knox didn't sustain any injuries.

Lloyd-Knox counters that the blow re-aggravated a neck injury she received when she was rear ended in May. The city attorney's office claims that Lloyd-Knox did not tell them about the injury until after they told her that charges would not be pursued.