 Rep. William P. Taulbee had been a congressman from Kentucky from 1884 to 1888.Charles E. Kincaid, a journalist for "The Louisville Times", had accused Taulbee of adultery and involvement in a Patent Office scandal, which had ruined Taulbee's political career.On February 28, 1890, the ex-congressman and the reporter ran into one another in the Capitol, and Taulbee assaulted and embarrassed Kincaid by tweaking the much smaller man's nose.