With over one year to go before the 2016 election, the first case of political violence is being reported.
The Daily Caller’s Alex Pappas reports, “John Yob, an adviser to Rand Paul’s presidential campaign, is claiming Rich Beeson, a top strategist to Marco Rubio’s campaign, punched him in the face at a bar in Michigan Thursday night.”
Yob posted about the incident on Facebook Friday. He didn’t say what led to the fight, but promised to release video to the media.
“Last night I went to a bar on Mackinac Island for the GOP Mackinac Conference,” Yob wrote. “I ran into a guy named Rich Beeson, who frankly I didn’t even know who it was at first because he isn’t relevant in our political world. Anyway, he is Marco Rubio’s national campaign manager. He literally physically assaulted me by punching me in the face.”
Here is the video:
Via Yob, here’s the video of the alleged punch pic.twitter.com/jsZIVqhstO
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) September 18, 2015
Like any good strategist, Yob had a media angle in mind.
“The state police are looking for him,” he said. “I have it on video, from multiple angles. This will play out in the national media in the next few hours.”
Police confirmed a report was made about the incident.
“There was a complaint made of an alleged assault,” said Mackinac Island police Chief Brett Riccinto, who said he’s still waiting to receive video of the incident. “Until then I don’t want to make a statement.” The complaint, he added, would be forwarded to a local prosecutor.
Yob has called for Rubio to “fire Beeson immediately.”
Neither campaign has made a statement about the kerfuffle as of yet.
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