Illinois state rep’s daughter arrested for attacking political opponent with a staple gun

A political battle in Illinois got bloody this month -- literally.

Bob Zwolinski was a candidate for state representative, running against Cynthia Soto. He reported being attacked with a staple gun outside his Chicago office this month. Soto's daughter, Jessica, and Bradley Fichter, both 26, were arrested in connection with the attack that left Zwolinski's face bloodied, according to NBC5.

The two were charged after Zwolinski told the station that he was punched, choked, kicked, hit with a beer bottle and stapled in the head with a staple gun.

“The girl was screaming, ‘This isn’t your territory! This is Soto’s territory!’ while I was being pummeled on the ground," he told the Chicago Sun Times.

Frank Avila, an attorney for both Soto and Fichter, said Fichter was defending himself in the scuffle and Soto was not involved at all. He wondered why Zwolinski chose to do media interviews before going to the hospital to be treated for his injuries.

“He was doing inteviews with a staple in his head,” Avila said, and wondered whether Zwolinski had in fact stapled his own head.

According to police, both Soto and Fichter were arguing with Zwolinski before hitting him with a bottle and a metal object, according to the Sun Times. Both are scheduled to appear in court Friday.

Zwolinski posted a photo of himself to Twitter showing a bleeding laceration in his forehead, with the message, "Politics is a contact sport. Apparently that's literally the case."

Soto defeated Zwolinski in the election Tuesday, despite the bizarre accusations.