Florida Lawmaker Accused of Punching Spring Breaker

A Florida lawmaker blowing off a little steam on the eve of the 2015 legislative session’s start is accused of punching a 21-year-old college student at a Tallahassee bar.

Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, admits to being at Clyde’s and Costello’s late Monday night, but denies allegations levied by Connecticut native Peter Alberti. The college student paid a visit to the bar – just steps from the state Capitol – during spring break from his studies in Charleston, the Tampa Bay Times is reporting.

Artiles was supposedly trying to get to the bar when Alberti was reportedly in his way.

“He punched me in the face,” Alberti told the Miami Herald.

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Artiles has vehemently denied the allegations and is considering taking action against L.J. Govoni, a former legislative aide to U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Tampa. It seems Govoni was also present at Clyde’s and Costello’s and made sure Alberti knew who Artiles was. He has since taken to Twitter to heckle the state representative, both papers reported.

While Govoni has now set his Twitter feed to private, he didn’t do so before publications across the state captured a few messages.

“Hey @Artiles118 nice punch u threw tonight at that 21 yr old kid,” Govoni reportedly tweeted, according to the Miami New Times.

He also tweeted about being in “complete shock” at what he witnessed.

Artiles has since stated he’s going to have a cease-and-desist letter sent to Govoni.

Though Artiles maintains his innocence, another witness reportedly corroborated the college student’s version of the story, the Herald reported.

So far, Alberti hasn’t filed charges against the lawmaker and it’s unclear if he will.

Artiles is the state representative floating single-sex bathroom legislation in this year’s session. If the bill holds water, it will become illegal for people to use a public restroom designated for the opposite sex.

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