A second man has been arrested in connection with an attack on a Marco Rubio supporter who was canvassing for the senator in Hialeah, police said.
Jonathan Casanova, 27, was arrested and charged with one count of aggravated battery in the Sunday incident, Hialeah Police officials said Tuesday night.
According to an arrest report, Casanova and 22-year-old Javier Lopez were blocking the sidewalk where 27-year-old Christopher Monzon was passing out fliers for Republican candidates Rubio and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The two defendants confronted Monzon and an argument ensued, the report said.
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Sgt. Jose Torres, a spokesperson for the Hialeah Police Department, said Monzon sustained bruising to the face and laceration to the eyes after being attacked by the men. Police said Casanova released two German Shepherd dogs on Monzon and gave them commands to attack.
Casanova was taken into custody without incident in Miami Beach. Lopez was ordered to remain in jail at a hearing Tuesday.
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Monzon's father told NBC 6 that his son is still recovering in a hospital as of Tuesday.
After the attack, Rubio tweeted out photos of Monzon and alleged that Lopez told Monzon that Republicans weren’t allowed in the neighborhood.
On Tuesday, the senator backed off from that narrative. His campaign declined to comment on the incident any further.
"He made it sound as if there was some innocent volunteer walking around who got beaten up for his political views," said Marc Caputo, an NBC News national political reporter. "But when you talk to Hialeah Police, the story doesn’t come to bear."
Caputo highlighted that Hialeah Police isn’t calling this a politically motivated attack.
"That’s part of the problem with Twitter, that’s part of what makes it special," he said. "But sometimes what makes it special makes it pretty inaccurate.”
Video from 2017 showed Monzon being arrested as he held a Confederate flag outside of a Hollywood commission meeting during a vote to remove Confederate generals from city streets. Monzon was then put on probation.
Lopez, who is no stranger to the law, is already on a five-year probation from a 2018 incident. His criminal record includes armed burglary, grand theft and multiple probation violations.
"He ran into some bad dude with a violent past who beat him up," Caputo said. "Exactly why, we don’t know.”
Lopez will be back in court on Nov. 14.
