Miami GOP official now says Rubio canvasser lied about being attacked for political beliefs

On Wednesday, the Miami Herald reported that a former Proud Boy and Miami GOP official who held a rally to support the former white nationalist activist assaulted while out canvassing for Republicans last month, has disavowed the enterprise and now calls the whole story behind the attack a lie.

"Gabriel Garcia believed Christopher Monzon, the Republican Party canvasser who said he was beaten up in Hialeah last month because of his political beliefs. So much that Garcia — a former Proud Boy facing a federal trial for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection — helped organize a rally in Monzon’s support and stood guard outside his hospital room," reported Sarah Blaskey and Nicholas Nehamas. "But after watching new videos of the moments before two men attacked Monzon, Garcia now says he thinks the canvasser is lying about being the victim of a leftist attack — and that Sen. Marco Rubio, who turned the incident into a national news story with a provocative tweet, used the fight for his political advantage."

“After seeing the new evidence and video, this was not politically motivated and Chris took advantage of the situation,” said Garcia, who, as the report notes, also sits on the Executive Committee for the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County. “I hope he goes to jail for lying to the detective on his BS story and same with little Marco for taking advantage of this situation for political gains.”

Rubio originally tweeted of the incident, "Last night one of our canvassers wearing my T-shirt and a DeSantis hat was brutally attacked by 4 animals who told him Republicans weren’t allowed in their neighborhood in #Hialeah #Florida He suffered internal bleeding, a broken jaw & will need facial reconstructive surgery."

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But this story quickly began to fall apart after police and the assailant's Republican mother disputed the political motivation for the attack.

"The new videos show Monzon’s alleged attackers, Jonathan Alexander Casanova and Javier Lopez, jawing with him as he passed out GOP fliers in a Hialeah residential neighborhood on Oct. 23," said the report. "While Casanova commented on Monzon’s Rubio t-shirt, he also seemed to be trying to de-escalate the situation and did not say he had a problem with Republicans, instead telling the canvasser: “It’s okay, bro, we’re telling you, do your job. Go do your job.”

Casanova and Lopez both face charges of aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, having allegedly ordered a pair of dogs to attack Monzon. At trial, Monzon is maintaining the attack was politically motivated, although he did not begin making that claim publicly until after Rubio's tweet.