Hialeah, Fla. – A judge struck down a probation violation hold Tuesday involving 25-year-old Javier Lopez, one of two men accused of beating up a Republican canvasser in Hialeah.
Lopez was arrested just over a week ago after police say he and another man -- 27-year-old Jonathan Casanova, attacked a volunteer for Sen. Marco Rubio’s re-election campaign as the victim was handing out fliers in a Miami-Dade County neighborhood.
According to an arrest report, Casanova is facing one count of aggravated battery and a count of aggravated assault with a weapon. (the dogs)
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, in a court hearing Monday, filed formal charges against Lopez -- aggravated battery with great bodily harm, and they added an additional count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
A prosecuting attorney said he plans to introduce new evidence that Lopez helped sic two large dogs on the victim which would warrant the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge.
According to the police report, the victim was distributing flyers at about 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 at East 60th Street and First Avenue when Lopez and Casanova attacked him.
The victim was campaigning for Rubio, who is running for reelection against Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings, the former police chief of Orlando.
Authorities initially said there was no indication the attack was politically driven, but the victim told detectives one of the attackers told him he could not pass by because he was a Republican.
A prosecuting attorney said he plans to introduce new evidence that Lopez helped sic two large dogs on the victim.
After his arrest, Lopez was not able to bond out of jail due to a violation of probation from a previous crime.
On Tuesday, his defense attorney argued Lopez was sent a letter by mistake back in April saying his probation was terminated.
According to the judge, the defendant reasonably believed he was not on probation when he was arrested on Oct. 24.
“If the state had not mistakenly advised the defendant that his probation was over, I would be holding the defendant without bail,” the judge said.
The judge then struck down the probation hold but ordered that Lopez remain in jail.
The story went viral after Rubio tweeted about the attack on social media. But in an interview with the Miami Herald, Lopez’s mother said her son doesn’t know anything about politics and has never voted.
While police didn’t identify the victim, Local 10 News has learned that he is Christopher Monzon.
Monzon has been in the news before.
Back in 2017, the then-22-year-old was arrested at a protest in Hollywood ahead of a city commission meeting over whether to change the name of streets honoring Confederate leaders.
Police accused Monzon, a counter-protester who was wearing a shirt that said “League of the South,” of jabbing a flag containing a Confederate design at people.
The judge ruled that another hearing will be next week to determine if Lopez can be released from jail before he goes to trial.
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 neighborhood in #Hialeah #Florida
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 24, 2022
He suffered internal bleeding, a broken jaw & will need facial reconstructive surgery pic.twitter.com/36QpbySg58