A knife-wielding octogenarian ex-con pummeled a police captain when he tried to approach famous kidnap survivor Elizabeth Smart at a book signing at Indiana State University, according to published reports.

Claude Hudson, who once served time for attempted murder, was attending the “Elizabeth Smart Speaker Series” in the Heritage Lounge at Tiery Hall on Monday evening, when the captain spotted him playing with a folding knife while gazing at Smart across the room, The Tribune Star reported Wednesday.

Hudson, 80, then closed the knife, stuffed it into his pocket and started walking “in a dedicated and determined fashion” toward Smart, passing a line of people waiting to get her memoir, “My Story,” autographed by her, the newspaper said.

But ISU Police Captain Ian Loomis stopped Hudson, who became enraged and repeatedly slugged the officer in the stomach.

Loomis was able to restrain Hudson, remove the knife from his pocket and place him under arrest for battery.

Hudson has a long history of arrests in California, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada and Tennessee. He was also convicted of attempted murder in Nevada in 1991.

Smart, 29, who was the guest speaker at the event, was not injured.

In June 2002, she was kidnapped at knifepoint from her bedroom in Salt Lake City when he was just 14.

One of her two captors repeatedly raped her over a long period of time before she was finally rescued by police.

Both kidnappers were convicted for the crime and given long prison sentences.

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