Anti-Violence Speaker Arrested for Hitting Chicago-Area Woman, Says Report

NEW YORK (CBS) A 40-year-old motivational speaker against violence has been charged with one count of domestic battery.

Warren Jackson, a motivational speaker for the Chicago-based group "We Stop the Killings," was charged with a misdemeanor battery count after a shopper allegedly saw him hit a woman outside a store Jan. 21, reports The Chicago Tribune.

According to police, the shopper saw Jackson put a toddler in the front passenger seat of a car before he turned around from the driver's seat and punched a woman in the back seat, reports the paper.

Officers were told that Jackson continued to attack the woman after moving the car to a different location of the store's parking lot.

Jackson was later stopped by officers several miles from the store and arrested, according to The Tribune. He told police that he and the woman had been arguing, but that he did not hit her, police said.

After Jackson's arrest, the woman was taken to a local hospital where she was treated for several bruises and lacerations. 

According to the "We Stop the Killings" website, westopthekillings.org, Jackson is described as "a force for positive change and empowerment." But his credentials as an anti-violence advocate are under scrutiny.

Jackson is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office on Dec. 2 , seeking to shut down the Chicago-based group, claiming it is operating illegally while soliciting charitable donations. The lawsuit seeks to stop Jackson and five others associated with the organization's Web site from managing a charitable organization in Illinois. The suit says the group solicited donations and falsely claimed the money would fund efforts to curb youth violence in Chicago.