A city councilman in Mississippi has defended he and his wife’s arrest on simple assault charges.

D’Iberville councilman Robby Ellis told the Sun Herald he and his wife “had a heated argument as most married couples do.”

“Nobody was punched, kicked or hurt,” he said. “My 1-year-old has head-butted me harder than my wife slapped me.”

Ellis and his wife, Chelse Ellis, were arrested Saturday, after an officer responded to their home and noticed “signs of domestic violence occurring on both sides,” Chief Wayne Payne said.

Robby Ellis said his wife slapped him after he took her cellphone. He told the newspaper he used his arms to keep her back, which caused, “a little redness around her neck,” and he had a “little mark on my upper lip.”

Ellis said he then got in his car and left with his wife’s phone. He told the newspaper that she borrowed a phone and called police. When he returned home, he said he apologized to his wife, but by then it was too late, the Sun Herald reported.

The newspaper asked to speak with Chelse Ellis, but Robby Ellis said she did not want to talk. He also said she approved of what he told the newspaper.

The Ellises pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge on Tuesday. A no-contact order that had been filed to keep the couple apart was lifted.