Marco Rubio, who was attacked in Miami, was a prominent neo-Nazi who marched in Charlottesville

The man who was attacked while campaigning for Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio is revealed as a local neo-Nazi who marched with white supremacists at the Unite the Right rally in 2017 Charlottesville.

The campaign volunteer was wearing Rubio campaign clothing and a Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hat when he was brutally beaten shortly before 7pm on Sunday.

On Monday, Rubio defended the volunteer when he shared photos of the man lying in a hospital bed and tweeted that he had been beaten up by people who said Republicans were “not allowed” in the Hialeah, Florida, area.

Officials did not identify the dead man, but he was later identified by Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bova CBS News like 27-year-old Christopher Monzon.

The Daily Beast it was reported that Monzon was previously seen at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalists led a torchlight march through the streets, resulting in the death of a protester.

Javier Jesus Lopez, 22, was taken into custody shortly after Sunday’s attack and now faces a charge of aggravated battery.

Rubio came out on Monday, sharing photos of a man in a hospital bed, tweeting that he was beaten up by people who said Republicans were “not allowed” in Gayale, Florida

Javier Jesus Lopez, 22, was taken into custody shortly after Sunday’s attack and now faces a charge of aggravated battery.

Christopher Monzon shakes hands with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in a photo released on Dec. 13, 2021.

“Last night one of our canvassers wore my t-shirt and Desantis[sic] Hat was brutally attacked by 4 animals who told him Republicans are not allowed in their district,” Rubio wrote. Twitter.

“He has internal bleeding, a broken jaw and will need reconstructive surgery on his face.”

Police said the victim was followed after being told he could not hand out flyers in the area, and was struck several times in the head and face after crossing the street at East 60th Street.

However, the police report emailed to DailyMail.com made no mention of Rubio’s political animosity described in his tweet.

Lopez told the 27-year-old volunteer that “he is not allowed to walk on the sidewalk and hand out flyers in his neighborhood,” according to Hialeah Police Sergeant Jose Torres.

“The victim, in order to avoid the confrontation, crossed the street where he again encountered Mr. Lopez,” Torres’ statement continued.

“During a verbal dispute, Mr. Lopez struck the victim multiple times in the face and head, causing injuries.”

According to The Daily Beast, a third man intervened and kicked Lopez in an attempt to prevent the attack, but fled before police arrived.

Lopez then allegedly punched the Rubio volunteer multiple times… leaving him with severe swelling on the right side of his face and his right eye being completely closed…. [Lopez] continued to strike [volunteer] on the mouth, causing severe swelling and bleeding.’

The Daily Beast later discovered that the volunteer — Monzon — was once a member of the League of the South (LOS), which the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group, but he claimed to have resigned last year. .

After Rubio’s tweet in defense of the victim, many took to social media to say that Monzon had been spotted at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A Twitter user posted pictures of Christopher Monzon with the caption: “If this guy, Christopher Monzon, was the agitator, he got what he deserved.”

Neo-Nazis, alt-right and white supremacists surround protesters at the statue of Thomas Jefferson after a torchlight march through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia

“While it is not clear how a Cuban American came to identify as a white supremacist and a ‘Southern nationalist,’ it seems clear that Monson received some support from his parents, who participated in League of the South demonstrations adorned with Confederate battle flags (CBF) and LOS signs ,” the SPLC wrote about Monzon in 2017.

Monzon, who once rallied to push for the renaming of streets named after Confederate generals, was also arrested for attempting to attack protesters in Hollywood, Florida, with a Confederate flag.

“Current events like the violence caused by these communists who are trying to silence us through violence and coercion, they’ve kept them out of here, but they don’t intimidate me,” Monzon told Local 10 News at the time.

Monzon is also running for Hialeah City Council in 2021. But he received only 3.7 percent of the votes in the primaries.

A request for more details about the campaigner sent to Rubio’s campaign was referred to the state Republican Party.

Police said the victim was being followed after being told he could not hand out flyers in the area and was struck several times in the head and face after crossing the street at East 60th Street

Lopez then allegedly punched volunteer Rubio several times with closed fists … leaving him with severe swelling on the right side of his face and his right eye being completely closed … continuing to punch [volunteer] on the mouth, causing severe swelling and bleeding’

The city of Hialeah, where the incident took place, is located in Miami-Dade County.

Its mayor, Esteban Bova, is a Republican, but the county as a whole voted for President Joe Biden in 2020.

State Rep. and former Florida Republican Party Chairman Blaise Ingoglia called on prominent state Democrats, including gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, to condemn the incident.

This comes amid a wave of Republican criticism of the president for his vicious attacks on the pro-Trump faction of the Republican Party.

He recently derided them as “mega MAGA Republicans” in a Sunday interview on MSNBC and called them “extremists” during appearances across the country alongside Democratic midterm candidates.

Biden said in Philadelphia last month, “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”

The Republican National Committee immediately accused the president of inciting the violence, writing in a statement: “Joe Biden’s horrific attacks on millions of Americans sparked attacks on pregnancy centers, Republican offices and an assassination attempt on a Supreme Court justice.”

The campaigner also wore a Ron DeSantis hat in support of the Florida governor

The rise in political divisiveness has led to a surge of confrontations online and in real life, involving both lawmakers and ordinary Americans.

The Department of Homeland Security has sent out several bulletins this year alone warning of increased threats against federal employees and others in the political sphere.

All the while, violent rhetoric becomes normalized language to energize the voter base.

Earlier in October, Donald Trump said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell “has a death wish” over the Kentucky Republican’s vote to fund the government and avoid a shutdown.

And Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who is running for an open Senate seat in Ohio, said on MSNBC last month that Americans should “kill and resist” the Republican MAGA movement.

The gunman, 26, was arrested in June this year outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanagh.

The young man told police he wanted to kill a particular member of the court because he was “upset” at the then-drafted Roe v. Wade decision to overturn abortion rights.