Illinois Town Hall Mayor Brawl, Activist Defends Actions, Cites Ongoing Feud

Jedidiah Brown, the Illinois man who went viral for brawling with Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard and her boyfriend at a town board meeting in the Chicago suburbs, is sharing his side of the story ... telling us the throwdown was bound to happen.

We caught up with Jedidiah on the "TMZ Verified" podcast, where JB explained how prior tension between himself and the mayor led to their headline-making tussle.

As Jedidiah put it ... he faced 9 months' worth of threats and disrespectful encounters before things escalated at the now-infamous town board meeting. He even shared footage of a previous run-in between himself -- on a bullhorn -- and Mayor Henyard's boyfriend, Kamal, when they exchanged nasty insults.

This is why Jedidiah didn't feel the need to apologize for the way he addressed Mayor Henyard at the public meeting ... noting it was the "way we greet each other" in Dolton.

He added ... "This sound bite that everyone is talking about is a reaction. I am the effect, not the cause ... Me calling her that word was nice."

For those who missed the drama when it first broke, Jedidiah called Henyard a "half-assed mayor," and a "bitch," among several other insults ... prompting her significant other to step in and get physical with the activist.

Jedidiah told us he wasn't shocked by the boyfriend's reaction ... though, he called out Kamal for being a "coward" for starting a fight while he was walking away.

He continued ... "I didn't come to fight, but I am willing to defend myself. So, I'm proud of him for standing up -- kinda -- and proud of her for fighting for her man."

Mayor Henyard isn't looking to apologize either ... her attorney, Beau B. Brindley, spoke with Fox 32 and blamed the "endless false accusations and outright lies" about the politician as the cause for the violence.

Looks like these two will have to agree to disagree for now.