MIAMI — Christopher Monzon, the Republican Party canvasser brutally beaten in Hialeah, spoke publicly about the attack for the first time Saturday, saying he was targeted for his political beliefs.
“All I want is for the truth about what happened to get out. And the truth is it was politically motivated,” Monzon told the Miami Herald during a brief appearance at a Proud Boys rally in the Hialeah neighborhood where he was attacked last Sunday. “The truth is this could happen to anyone. And I don’t want it to happen to anyone, whether they’re Democrat or Republican. All I want is for justice to be done.”
Hialeah police have arrested two men for the assault, Javier Jesus Lopez and Jonathan Alexander Casanova. Monzon was canvassing for Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wearing a Rubio T-shirt and a Gov. Ron DeSantis hat, when he said Lopez and Casanova attacked and beat him. Rubio tweeted about the attack, saying that Monzon had been assaulted “by 4 animals who told him Republicans weren’t allowed in their neighborhood.”
Rubio’s tweet quickly made national news of the attack, with parts of the country on high alert for political extremism. An initial police report mentioned nothing about politics. Hialeah police said Monzon didn’t tell them the beating was politically motivated until detectives reinterviewed him a day after the incident, though they noted that trauma victims don’t always immediately remember every detail.
Rubio, who says he learned details of Monzon’s attack from the canvasser’s father, had already tweeted by that point.
Monzon has a long history of supporting white supremacist causes and making racist statements. He has since said he regrets his past and is trying to move forward.
“I’m going to clear my name. I’m a man who loves his country,” he said. “I’m a Hialeah Republican. And I love my city of Hialeah.”
The Saturday rally, organized by members of the Proud Boys and their allies, began at Milander Park in Hialeah before roughly two dozen people marched to Lopez’s home in East Hialeah.
Monzon spoke from the passenger seat of a car near the home before heading to a polling place to cast his ballot and then leaving for a medical appointment. He declined to answer specific questions about the beating or his past.
The rally, he said, “it’s in my support, on my behalf. You know, I didn’t plan it. But, hey, you know I appreciate it very much.”
Lopez remains in county jail. Casanova paid a bond and was released. Both men have a history of arrests for violent behavior, although neither has shown any interest in politics, according to family members and voter records.
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