“TESTOSTERONE”: New video sheds doubt on motives for Rubio canvasser attack
A recently released video sheds new light on the altercation between GOP canvasser, Christopher Monzon, and his alleged assailants that prompted cries of politically motivated violence from Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL).
Cell phone video taken in the moments leading up to the assault shows the escalation may have had less to do with politics, than with male ego.
The Miami Herald reported:
“The fight actually began because Monzon was staring too intently at Casanova’s girlfriend, who was seated inside her boyfriend’s car.”
According to Joseph Chambrot, attorney for 27-year-old Jonathan Casanova, “This has nothing to do with Sen. Rubio or the Republican Party.”
“Too much testosterone in the room,” Chambrot added.
Casanova can be heard saying:
“’Just do your job, bro,’ Casanova says repeatedly as he stands with his body angled away from Monzon. Pointing him down the street, Casanova told Monzon, ‘You’re looking too hard,’” The Miami Herald reported.
Monzon was reportedly assaulted while passing out fliers in the conservative Miami suburb of Hialeah. Wearing a t-shirt in support of Rubio, Monzon’s father Ray Cedeno told reporters his son was told that ‘Republicans were not welcome.’
Initial claims of an unprovoked politically motivated assault were questioned after the canvasser’s affiliation with White supremacist groups was discovered — and Monzon’s participation in 2017’s anti-Semitic Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, VA that left Heather Heyer dead.
In social media posts, Monzon was unapologetic about his racist beliefs. Using the “N-word” freely, referring to himself as the “Cuban confederate,” – and bragging about being a chaos agent.
Recorded outside the home of the second alleged assailant, Javier Jesus Lopez, the 25-year-old can be heard telling Monzon to “keep walking.”
It wasn’t until after Senator Rubio tweeted that the canvasser was beaten by “4 animals,” and suggested that it was an act of political violence did Monzon confirm. Despite witness testimony contradicting the unsubstantiated claim. After watching the cell phone recordings Cedeno acknowledged doubts about his son’s attack.
“I think, personally, they just chose that subject about Marco Rubio just to pick a fight. I personally don’t think these guys are political. But they definitely did mention the name.”
FEC records revealed Monzon was paid nearly $10,000 over the summer by the Florida GOP. Neither the party nor Sen. Rubio has said whether they knew of his ties to far-right extremist and white nationalist groups before hiring him.
View the video below.
Original reporting by David Ovalle, Sarah Blaskey, and Nicholas Nehamas at The Miami Herald.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
