A second suspect was arrested for brutally beating a campaign worker in Hialeah, Fla. after the victim was revealed to be a “former” neo-Nazi.
According to a Fox News Digital affidavit, Johnathan Alexander Casanova, 27, along with Javier Lopez, 25, allegedly assaulted a recruiter for Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio on Sunday night.
“After working tirelessly to bring justice to the victim, Hialeah Police detectives arrested Jonathan Alexander Casanova and charged him with the assault on Sunday, October 23, 2022,” Sergeant Jose Torres said in a statement Fox News Digital.
The victim was not identified by officials, but Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo later identified him to CBS News as 27-year-old Christopher Monzon.
Monzon has a prominent history of violence and racist language, most notably spotted at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalists held a torchlight procession through the streets that killed a counter-protester.
Back in 2017, the then 22-year-old was arrested at a protest in Hollywood before a city commission meeting to consider whether to change the names of streets honoring Confederate leaders, according to the Miami New Times.
Police accused Monzon of pointing a flag with a Confederate design at people at a counter-protester wearing a shirt that read “League of the South.”
At the time, he was charged with aggravated assault, incitement to a riot and disorderly conduct.
Police have arrested Johnathan Alexander Casanova, 27, (pictured) in connection with an alleged assault on a recruiter for Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio that took place Sunday night
According to an affidavit accompanying the arrest, Casanova joined 25-year-old Javier Lopez (pictured) in attacking the recruiter, allegedly saying he was “not allowed” in her neighborhood in Hialeah, Fla.
Monzon has a prominent history of violence and racist comments, most notably spotted at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia
White nationalists staged a torchlight procession through the streets that killed a counter-protester
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors domestic extremism, the League of the South is a “neo-confederate” hate group.
Last year, Monzon told the Daily Dot he reformed while running for public office in South Florida.
Over the summer, the “former” white supremacist received more than $10,000 from the Florida Republican Party between June and September, Federal Election Commission records show.
Rubio came out in defense of the volunteer Monday when he shared photos of the man lying in a hospital bed and tweeted that he was beaten by people who said Republicans are “not allowed” in the Hialeah, Fla., area .
The activist is believed to have suffered internal bleeding and a broken jaw and will require reconstructive facial surgery, Rubio’s post reads.
“Last night one of our recruiters wearing my t-shirt and a Desantis hat was brutally attacked by four animals who told him Republicans were not allowed in their neighborhood in #Hialeah #Florida.
“He suffered internal bleeding, a broken jaw and will require reconstructive facial surgery.”
Back in 2017, the then 22-year-old Monzon was arrested at a protest in Hollywood before a city commission meeting over whether to change the names of streets in honor of Confederate leaders
Police accused Monzon of pointing a flag with a Confederate design at people at a counter-protester wearing a shirt that read “League of the South.” He was charged with aggravated assault, incitement to a riot and disorderly conduct
In the disturbing images, the 27-year-old recruiter, with a bruised and bleeding face and campaign items, can be seen being treated by emergency services.
On Monday, police in Hialea, Fla. arrested a 25-year-old suspect named Javier Lopez, according to a statement sent to . However, it made no mention of political hostility of the kind described by Rubio.
Lopez allegedly told the 27-year-old volunteer that “he is not allowed to walk on the sidewalk and distribute leaflets in his neighborhood,” according to Hialea Police Sergeant Jose Torres.
“To avoid confrontation, the victim walked across the street where he was confronted again by Mr. Lopez,” the statement continued.
“During the verbal argument, Mr. Lopez then punched the victim multiple times in the face and head, resulting in the injuries.”
A request for more details about the recruiter, sent to Rubio’s campaign trail, was forwarded to the state-run Republican Party.
The city of Hialeah, where the incident occurred, is in Miami-Dade County.
Rubio posted photos of the 27-year-old recruiter with a bruised and bleeding face in the care of emergency services, wearing an election shirt (pictured).
The young Republican (pictured) is said to have suffered internal bleeding and a broken jaw and will need reconstructive facial surgery
According to Hialea Police, the victim (pictured) attempted to avoid the confrontation by crossing the street, where she was confronted again
Mayor Bovo is Republican, but the county as a whole narrowly voted for President Joe Biden in 2020.
Lawmaker and former Florida GOP Chair Blaise Ingoglia called on prominent Democrats in the state, including gubernatorial candidate Rep. Charlie Crist, to condemn the incident.
It comes amid a wave of Republican criticism aimed at the president for his harsh attacks on the GOP’s pro-Trump faction.
He recently derided them as “mega-MAGA Republicans” in a Sunday interview on MSNBC and called them “extremists” in appearances across the country alongside mid-term Democratic candidates.
Biden said in Philadelphia last month, “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
The Republican National Committee immediately accused the president of inciting violence, writing in a statement, “Joe Biden’s pathetic attacks on millions of Americans have fueled attacks on pregnancy centers, Republican offices and an attempted assassination of a Supreme Court judge.”
Rubio is running for re-election against Val Demings, representative of the Democratic House of Representatives
The recruiter also wore a Ron DeSantis hat in support of the Florida governor
Growing political divisions have led to an increase in online and real-life confrontations that have gripped lawmakers and ordinary Americans alike.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued several bulletins this year alone warning of increasing threats against federal employees and others in the political arena.
Meanwhile, violent rhetoric is becoming normalized language to bolster the electoral base.
Donald Trump said in early October that Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell had “a death wish” on the Kentucky Republican’s vote to fund the government and avoid a shutdown.
And Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who is running for an open Senate seat in Ohio, said on MSNBC last month that Americans need to “kill and confront” the Republican MAGA movement.
An armed 26-year-old man was arrested near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in June this year.
The young man told police he wanted to kill a certain member of the court because he was speaking about the then-draft decision protecting abortion in Roe v. picking up Wade was “upset”.
