Jezebel: “I immediately smelled a rat, especially considering that Hialeah, Florida—where the incident took place—is a Republican stronghold. As the day goes on, it’s become increasingly clear that the story didn’t happen the way Rubio said it did. First, the victim in question has been identified as Christopher Monzon, a white supremacist nicknamed the “Cuban Confederate” who participated in the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, has a history of violence, and is deeply involved in Miami Republican politics.
A police report obtained by the Miami New Times confirms that a man has been arrested in the attack: 22-year-old Javier Jesus Lopez, who “has a violent past and is out on felony bond,” according to NBC News reporter Marc Caputo. The police report says Lopez allegedly told Monzon, “You can’t pass by here. This is my neighborhood,” before slamming him to the ground. But the report “does not mention a political dispute, nor does it indicate that Lopez targeted Monzon because Monzon is a Republican,” according to the New Times. The report also does not indicate that Monzon was attacked by “four animals,” as Rubio claimed in his dehumanizing tweet, though police told CBS they’re looking to talk to “two other possible people of interest.”
It’s definitely odd for a U.S. senator to tweet out a story before local news or the police have said a word about it, and conveniently leave out the fact that the victim has a history of perpetrating white supremacist violence himself.”