[lerker]

Sorry, he didn’t knock her out, but what he did was assault. If you swing and miss someone, that is also assault. Agree, in a real world situation this is nothing, but it is assault by legal definition.

[Fresh Wind]

(Note: bolding is mine)

From https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/district-columbia-assault-laws.htm

In the District of Columbia, it is a misdemeanor to:

assault another person, or threaten someone in a menacing manner.

(D.C. Code § 22-404.)

Under general legal principles, an assault is a physical act or a show of force that puts another person in fear of imminent harm or offensive physical contact. For example, hitting someone with a fist could be considered an assault, and so could throwing a beer bottle at an individual. Because the District’s laws criminalize both assaults and threats, neither injury to nor physical contact with the victim is necessary to violate Washington, D.C.’s assault law.

[RedMonqey]

Sorry, he didn’t knock her out, but what he did was assault.

Even if you are living in a nursing home where people are fragile, this won't rise to the level of "assault"

These are adults in the real world. Nobody but drama queens are calling this assault.