The Guardian and National Journal on Friday obtained security footage from Horn’s Bar on Michigan’s Mackinac Island that appears to show a staffer for Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) presidential campaign hitting an aide to rival Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
Paul’s national political director, John Yob, accused Rubio’s deputy campaign manager, Rich Beeson, of punching him in the face Thursday night without provocation. Yob subsequently called on Rubio to fire Beeson.
Mackinac Island Police Chief Brett Riccinto told The Guardian that the confrontation between Yob and Beeson had been “blown way, way, way out of proportion.”
“It wasn’t a brawl,” Riccinto told the publication. “If anything, it was a shove. Literally, it was a shove.”
Nevertheless, Riccinto told The Guardian that an assault complaint was forwarded to prosecutors, who would determine whether to file charges.
Neither Paul’s nor Rubio’s campaign immediately responded to requests for comment from TPM. Rubio spokesman Alex Conant told The Guardian that the campaign was aware of reports about the incident and looking for more information about what happened.
Watch below via The Guardian:
