A 22-year-old South African national is charged with aggravated assault after a brawl at the White Earth rodeo grounds on Sunday.

Stefanus Daniel Petrus Hamman, whose address is given as Stanley, made an initial appearance in North Central District Court via interactive television from the Mountrail County Jail. Judge Doug Mattson, presiding from Minot, tried to explain the ins and outs of an unfamiliar American justice system to Hamman, who seemed to think the other man should have been charged.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court, Hamman knocked the other man unconscious during the fight. The alleged victim stopped breathing and CPR had to be administered before he was transported to the hospital. A state’s attorney informed the judge on Monday that the alleged victim hadn’t yet been able to speak with officers. The alleged victim was taken to a Tioga hospital and then airlifted to Trinity Hospital in Minot for treatment.

Hamman told authorities that the victim was “trying to fight everyone” and he stepped in to stop the fight when the other man grabbed him around the neck. Then Hamman struck the other man in the face. One witness reported seeing the alleged victim with his hands around Hamman’s throat.

The alleged victim was reportedly drunk at the time and required an interpreter to speak with police.

“What’s going to happen to that guy?” asked Hamman, speaking English with an Afrikaans accent.

Mattson explained that would be up to the Mountrail County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“(What) if that guy comes to the police and wants the charges to go away against me?” Hamman asked later.

Mattson explained that the alleged victim didn’t bring charges; the state’s attorney’s office did.

The full name of the alleged victim is not given in court documents.

Mattson explained Hamman’s rights and the court process, saying he didn’t know how the U.S. system differs from the South African legal system. Mattson suggested that Hamman contact the South African Consulate to notify them that he has been charged. The Mountrail County State’s Attorney’s Office plans to contact the consulate.

Mattson set bond at $2,500 cash or corporate surety, ordered Hamman to stay away from the alleged victim and to surrender his passport to the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Department if he makes bond.

– Andrea Johnson