Lincoln man who attacked WWE star described as ‘similar to a mass shooter’ by stalking victim
A Lincoln man arrested Saturday for tackling WWE wrestler Bret “The Hitman” Hart as he was making a speech has a history of stalking, according to court documents.
Zachary Madsen, 26, of Lincoln, was taken into custody after the now viral incident that occurred as Hart was giving a Hall of Fame induction speech at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Madsen was wearing a red, yellow, and green hat with fake dreadlocks as he jumped over metal barriers separating Hart from the audience, came up behind him and tackled him to the ground, according to court documents obtained by Channel 8 Eyewitness News.
The live broadcast on the WWE Network was interrupted as several people, including many wrestlers, rushed in the ring to pull Madsen away from Hart. Madsen kicked a security guard in the ribs as the man was attempting to pull Madsen off Hart.
“I just felt like it was the right moment,” Madsen told authorities as he was arrested, according to the documents.
After Madsen was taken into custody, Hart, 61, who suffered pain and stiffness in his hip, was able to finish his speech. He was treated and released from Brooklyn Memorial Hospital. The security guard suffered minor injuries to his ribs and was also released from a local hospital.
NYPD charged Madsen with third-degree assault, third-degree criminal trespassing and interfering with a sporting event.
It’s not the first time Madsen has had contact with law enforcement.
According to court documents obtained by Channel 8 Eyewitness News, Madsen has been arrested three times – twice in 2018 and once in 2019. All three arrests were connected to alleged stalking and violations of protection orders issued against him by mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Haris Talundzic.
Talundzic, 23, used to train at a Lincoln gym with Madsen, according to court documents. After Talundzic left the gym, Madsen became “obsessed” with him, the documents say.
Madsen began making a series of social media posts revolving around Talundzic. Some of the posts seemed to be challenging him to an MMA fight with Madsen, and some included profanity and other “violent” messages, according to an affidavit for Madsen’s arrest. At one point, Madsen sent a message to Talundzic’s girlfriend asking her to pass along a message to him.
Authorities granted Talundzic a protection order against Madsen, which Madsen did not appear to take seriously, investigators said in the affidavit. One post showed the protection order and had the caption ‘a restraining order. lol. This means nothing to me,’ according to the document.
Madsen showed up at events where Talundzic was present, took pictures of him from a distance, and, at one event, threw a drink at him and tried to start a fight, according to court documents.
Another arrest affidavit says officers were called to Talundzic’s Lincoln address on reports of a protection order violation. He told officers he had received a phone call from Madsen and saw two social media posts that mentioned a restraining order, according to the document. Madsen was in jail at the time, investigators said.
In all, Madsen violated protection and harassment orders issued against him several times. This caused Talundzic to fear for his safety, changing his daily schedule to avoid Madsen, and even asking for extra security at MMA events, according to court documents.
Madsen is scheduled to appear in Lancaster County Court next week.
