Marco Rubio is being criticised for failing to mention that one of his supporters, who was reportedly attacked and hospitalised while out canvassing on Sunday night, has alleged ties to a white supremacist group.
Mr Rubio, who is running for reelection in Florida, earlier said on Twitter that one of his supporters was severely injured while canvassing after being attacked for being a Republican.
Christopher Monzon was identified as the victim of the attack, in the South Florida city of Hialeah, on Monday.
“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 neighbourhood in #Hialeah #Florida. He suffered internal bleeding, a broken jaw & will need facial reconstructive surgery,” he said.
Now it has emerged that Mr Monzon, a former city council candidate in Hialeah, was named in 2017 by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as having ties with the Florida League of the South, a white supremacist organisation.
Police have arrested Javier Lopez, 22, in connection with the attack on Mr Monzon. Sergeant Jose Torres, a Hialeah Police Department spokesperson, said police were investigating the motivation behind the attack and added there was no indication at this stage that politics played a role.
In May 2017, Mr Monzon was arrested during an altercation in New Orleans involving a Confederate monument, according to the Anti-Defamation League. In August of that year, he was present at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the SPLC said.
Mr Monzon has used racial slurs in social media posts and, in August 2017, became involved in a “verbal altercation” with a group of demonstrators calling for the city of Hollywood, Florida to rename streets honouring Confederate generals, according to the SPLC.
He also rejected the idea that the Florida League of the South is a white supremacist organisation and was quoted by the Daily Dot as saying that he had resigned from the group in 2018.
On social media, many accused Mr Rubio of hiding Mr Monzon’s past.
“Marco Rubio sends out canvassers that are members of the league of the south and March in the Charlottesville unite the right Nazi rally, proceed to get their s**t rocked by locals,” one commentator wrote.
“Aaand the truth is here. Jesus, Rubio, can’t you ever tell the truth?” wrote another social media user.
“Why is your campaign working with a white nationalist like Christopher Monzon?” said author Grant Stern.
Other users shared photos and videos of Mr Monzon in response to Mr Rubio’s post, reportedly showing him at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.
Mr Monzon has not commented publicly since the incident on Sunday. Journalists from the Miami New Times said they received permission to interview Mr Monzon in hospital but were blocked from doing so by a local chapter of the right-wing Proud Boys organisation.
